


yer blues

by Kit_Kat21



Series: Beatles Tribute [31]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Depression, F/M, Family, Marriage, Moving, Past Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sibling Bonding, Snakes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:13:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 42,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24262630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kit_Kat21/pseuds/Kit_Kat21
Summary: “Sansa…”The voice came right in her ear and in her sleep, Sansa felt her entire body tense.“Sansa.” And then that chuckle. It could still make her heart freeze in her chest. “Sansa, you didn’t think you could move all the way to the Neck and I wouldn’t find you, did you?I’ll always find you.”
Relationships: Jon Snow/Sansa Stark
Series: Beatles Tribute [31]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/905319
Comments: 596
Kudos: 359





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> "Yer Blues" was written by John Lennon and is featured on the White Album. During the Beatles' visit to India, John was feeling depressed and suicidal and wanted to write a blues song like those he used to listen to. He wound up writing a song that was making fun of British singers when they tried to imitate blues singers. (This is actually one of my favorite Beatles songs.)

…

It began to happen and honestly, at first, she didn’t even notice.

There was the move, unpacking and getting everyone – and everything – settled. Then there was school – getting the kids registered, going to open house to meet the teachers and for the kids to see the schools, walking Brandon’s schedule with him in his new high school so he wasn’t completely lost on the first day. And then, of course, back to school meant back to school shopping.

Of course, all of the children were nervous about starting at a new school where they didn’t know anyone and Sansa and Jon were busy, reassuring them that they were going to do amazing and they were all going to fall in love with Greywater in no time. Because of Greywater’s small size – though it was quickly growing so Jon and Sansa knew it wouldn’t be like that forever – there were two schools. Grades K-8 were in the primary school and 9-12 were in the secondary school and they lived right down the street from the town’s primary school, but Brandon would be riding the bus, which was just another thing Brandon was nervous for even if he hadn’t said as much.

The house was tense with nerves as school drew nearer and Sansa made sure the kids had everything they needed per their supplies lists. Jon helped as much as he could, but he was so busy with work, building Snow Construction’s reputation in the Neck, he would leave early in the morning and sometimes, he would come home, barely making it just in time for dinner.

So for the most part, everything with the kids and in the home fell on Sansa’s shoulders.

And she was so busy with everything, Sansa didn’t have any time to think about herself.

…

On the first day of school, Jon always made the kids a big breakfast and he did it again this year; this year, a big breakfast more important than ever. Upstairs, in the girls’ shared room, Sansa sat on the bed as Eleanor stood in front of her, braiding her hair into two pigtails.

“What if I don’t make friends?” Eleanor asked, her fingers twisting nervously together.

“Of course you’re going to make friends, sweetheart,” Sansa told her what she had told all of her children all summer. “But remember what I said. It might not happen today. Today’s your first day. You should take your time. Shop around. Watch and figure out who the best one for you is to be your friend.”

Eleanor took a deep breath and nodded – but not too much so she didn’t ruin Sansa’s braids.

“I just need my new best friend to like dogs and swings,” Julia said from the floor as she put on her shoes.

Sansa smiled. Oh, to be six again.

“You’re going to meet the perfect best friend for you, too, Julia.”

“I know,” Julia nodded and Sansa almost laughed this time.

Sansa finished the braids and then wrapped her arms around Eleanor. Elanor had been worried about this since before they even moved here and Sansa knew her daughter well enough to know that right now, Eleanor’s stomach was in one big knot and she was doing her best to keep from crying.

“You are my brave, sweet Eleanor,” Sansa told her in a quiet voice. “And kids are going to be fighting with each other to get the chance to be your friend.”

Eleanor sniffled and nodded her head and Sansa kissed her cheek, squeezing her arms around her tight.

Downstairs, the boys were already sitting at the table with their plates of waffles topped with fresh strawberries. George seemed to be eating his breakfast with no problem, Brandon was eating – slowly – but at least he was still eating and Max was staring at his waffle with a frown. Max was their _extremely_ picky eater, but Sansa took one look at him and knew that this wasn’t him being picky.

“There’s my pretty girls!” Jon exclaimed with a smile. “Waffles?”

“Yes, please!” Julia exclaimed back. “Do you like my dress, daddy?”

Jon had already seen her dress no less than a dozen times, but he lifted his head and made sure to look. Julia had picked out the fabric herself at the fabric store – apples, rulers and pencils – and Sansa had sewed it into a dress for her. She paired it with her red tennis shoes and a red ribbon in her black curls.

“You are the prettiest first grader in all of Westeros,” Jon told her and Julia beamed brighter. He then looked to Eleanor in her blue dress and black sneakers. “You look like you’re ready for anything.”

Eleanor took another deep breath. “I am,” she nodded and Jon smiled, putting his arm around her and kissing her on the head.

Sansa sat at the table next to Max, he still frowning at his waffle, but when Sansa put his arms around her, he more than willingly leaned into her. “You are going to love kindergarten, Max. I promise.”

Max kept frowning, but he nodded.

“Have I ever lied to you?” Sansa then asked.

Max looked at her. “You said if I swallow apple seeds, I’ll get an apple tree in my tummy.”

Jon snorted at that and Brandon snickered and Sansa kept looking at Max, smiling.

“Okay. That one wasn’t exactly true, but you still shouldn’t swallow apple seeds. And you’re going to love kindergarten. I’m not lying about that.” Sansa squeezed her arms around him. “You’ll go and have fun and then you’ll be back here by noon to spend the rest of the day with me. Don’t you want to go to school like your brothers and sisters?”

Max looked at his siblings, all now sitting at the table. He then looked back to Sansa and nodded again. She smiled and hugging him, kissed his head.

“I promise,” she whispered.

…

After waffles, Jon made sure everyone brushed their teeth and Sansa made sure everyone had their shoes on. They then took pictures of the five kids to commemorate their first day of school in Greywater. The school bus for the high school arrived first and Sansa made sure she gave Brandon a kiss on his head _inside_ the house and Jon squeezed his shoulder.

They then watched from the front door as Brandon went down the flight of stairs and down the driveway, going up the steps of the bus, and they then watched as the bus rolled away down the street.

“Oh my God, we have a son in high school,” Sansa whispered and Jon smiled at that, kissing her cheek.

The primary school bus came a few minutes after that and this time, Jon and Sansa walked all of the kids down the stairs and down the driveway.

Each kid got a hug and kiss from Sansa and a high-five from Jon before climbing aboard the bus. Through the windows, Jon and Sansa saw the kids go down the aisle. Julia and Max sat together as did George and Eleanor. Max waved at them through the window as did Julia – both parents waving back – and it looked as if George was saying something to Eleanor, who was nodding her head.

The bus then pulled away from the curb and drove down the street towards the school. Sansa and Jon watched it go and Jon put his arm around Sansa’s shoulders.

“And they’re off. You did it,” he smiled at her.

“ _We_ did it,” Sansa reflexively corrected him and still smiling, Jon leaned in and kissed her.

…

Jon left for work a few minutes later and then it was just Sansa – with Martha – in a very silent house.

She cleaned up from breakfast, loading the dishwasher, cleaning out the waffle maker, wiping down the counters and table. After that, she went upstairs to see that the beds were made – one of the chores all of the children had – and she remade Max’s bed so it was done just a little bit neater. She then began gathering the laundry from the basket in the kid’s bathroom to take down into the laundry room. She separated and began washing the first load.

After all of that, she let Martha out into the backyard for a little bit – not too long because it was humid and Martha wouldn’t want to be out there that long – and then, finally, she went into the office off of the family den that Jon and Sansa both shared.

The house was so quiet with all of the kids and Jon gone that the silence actually pounded in Sansa’s ears. She went to the record player and put on _Rubber Soul_ , let Martha back inside, and returned to her drafting table. She sat on the chair, staring at the blank sheet of paper. She waited for inspiration to hit. She was all alone and had hours before Max’s bus dropped him off back at home. Right now, it was only Sansa and she had never had the luxury of such time before.

If there was ever a time to sketch new designs, it was now.

But Sansa sat there and stared at the sheet of paper that remained blank and nothing came to her.

…

Greywater Schools encouraged independence in children, Jon and Sansa had learned at the open house, and that wasn’t something that Sansa could necessarily be against. Max had a laminated bus pass that he wore on a piece of yarn around his neck. It was green and at the end of morning kindergarten, the teacher walked them outside and helped them find the bus that had the same color in the window.

Sansa stood in the driveway, waiting for the bus, and she burst into a smile as soon she saw it. Its brakes screamed to a stop outside of their house and the doors opened. A moment later, Max hopped down.

“Mommy!” He exclaimed, waving, just in case she didn’t see him.

“Max,” Sansa took a step forward and then crouched down so Max could run right to her. “Oh, I missed you so much.” She kissed his head once and then again. “I want to hear everything about your first day.”

She had missed him so, so much. She missed _all_ of them. It was nice to have some time to herself, but to be honest, she hadn’t known what to do with herself. She hadn’t been able to sketch a single design. She had tried to read, but nothing had held her interest. She was lonely and she had wanted to call her mom or Margaery or Tormund, but she always talked herself out of it.

Everyone was busy with their own lives and Sansa couldn’t expect them to just drop everything so they could talk with her. Who cared if she was lonely? Everyone got lonely. She wasn’t anyone special.

_she wasn’t anyone special._

…

Brandon already knew a few boys from cross country training and he shared classes with them and ate lunch with them so his first day of high school went far better than Sansa and Jon could have hoped for. And Eleanor, Julia and Max all had good first days, too. Julie has already made a few friends and Eleanor and George were in the same class so it made Eleanor feel a bit less completely alone.

George was the one who was frowning as they all sat down for dinner that night. “We’re in the same grade! She should be in our class!”

“I’m sorry, George,” Sansa said as she made sure everyone had a helping of peas – and Max didn’t immediately feed his to Martha under the table.

“Molly would be considered special ed., George,” Jon then added.

“She’s not stupid, dad,” George turned his frown on him.

“I didn’t say she was. I don’t know that much about cerebral palsy, but perhaps she learns at a different speed or a different way and your teacher can’t teach Molly and all of the others at the same time.”

“We have recess together,” Eleanor piped in. “We were able to see and play with her then, right, George?”

“Yeah,” George grumbled before shoving some crusted chicken into his mouth.

“Who needs more milk?” Sansa asked as she stood up to go to the refrigerator and counted three hands.

“How was your day, daddy?” Julia asked.

“It was very good. I had a low number on a bid and now, we submit our buy numbers,” Jon answered.

“What’s the bid?” Brandon asked.

“It’s a new physical therapy office.”

Sansa returned to the table with the glasses of milk and more napkins for everyone.

(It was only as she cleaned up from dinner that Sansa realized no one had asked her how her day was.)

…

“And how was your day today?” Jon asked hours later after the kids were in bed and the house was locked up and they, themselves, were getting ready for bed.

Sansa looked at him from over her shoulder as she changed into her pajamas and he smiled at her.

“It was good,” she nodded without elaboration. At least, it was good after Max came home from school and she could help him with his worksheets from his workbook. First day of school and homework already.

“I wanted to call you, but I didn’t want to bother you,” Jon then admitted as he pulled back the comforter and sheets of their bed. “If you were sketching, I would hate to ruin your groove.”

Sansa didn’t want to tell him that she hadn’t been able to sketch or do _anything_ today so she didn’t tell him. Instead, she went to him and kissing him softly.

“Please call me.”

…

The next morning, the kids had cereal for breakfast and Jon only had time to grab two pieces of toast and his thermos of coffee before he was kissing all of the kids on the heads and Sansa on the lips and he then hurried out the door.

The kids were gone soon after and once again, Sansa was completely alone.

She cleaned up from breakfast and today, she washed hers and Jon’s clothes. And when she sat down at her drafting table, once again, Sansa stared at the blank piece of paper in front of her and there was…

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

She didn’t understand it. She had always had ideas when she _couldn’t_ sketch. When she was working at the university library, she would have ideas all day and sketched as much as she could on her lunch break. She knew she would never have the time to actually sew any of them – with five kids and dogs and a husband running around, all needing her – but that still hadn’t stopped her mind from designing.

Maybe she should find one of her own sketch books and sew an older idea. She had sewed that dress for Julia, but there hadn’t been much design to it and it hadn’t taken her long at all so Sansa didn’t even consider that designing or creating.

Turning in her chair, she saw Martha laying down on one of the air-condition vents. Maybe she should do that. When was the last time she was actually able to take a nap? Maybe a nap was exactly what her brain needed to be recharged and ready to flow with creativity. And she _was_ a little tired. If she took a nap, no one would have to know.

(She didn’t know why she would have to keep a nap a secret, but she decided that she would.)

…

_“Sansa…”_

The voice came right in her ear and in her sleep, Sansa felt her entire body tense.

“Sansa.” And then that chuckle. It could still make her heart freeze in her chest. “Sansa, you didn’t think you could move all the way to the Neck and I wouldn’t find you, did you?

_I’ll always find you._ ”

…

Sansa sat up so quickly, gasping, she nearly fell off the couch. Her cheeks were already hot and soaked with tears and her heart wouldn’t slow down.

Ramsay… Ramsay. She gasped, trying to catch her breath, but she couldn’t.

Martha didn’t hesitate in jumping up on the couch with her and practically crawling on top of Sansa. Not that Sansa minded. Sansa wrapped her arms around the dog and wept into her fur. It had been so long since she had dreamt about Ramsay. So long, in fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she had even _thought_ of the man. She didn’t even think about him when she saw her scars or look at Brandon. She didn’t think of him at all.

  
So why on earth was she thinking of him now?

…

She desperately wanted to call Jon, but he was working and she didn’t want to bother him. She wanted to call Tormund who always made her laugh after a nightmare, but he was working, too.

She wanted to call her therapist, Dr. Tarth, but Dr. Tarth wasn’t her therapist anymore. She had given Sansa a helpful list of therapists in Greywater, but things had been so crazy with the move and getting everyone and everything settled, Sansa hadn’t had the time to meet with one yet.

She wanted to call her mom, but she was a grown woman. She couldn’t call her mom because she had had a nightmare. She and Jon had wanted to make this move partially to show their parents that they could stand on their own feet without relying on their parents for so much. Sansa couldn’t call Catelyn and let her mom know that she was still needed by her.

At least she had Martha and the dog didn’t seem to mind that Sansa hugged her too tightly or cried and cried without stop into her fur. Martha just sat like the good girl she was and let Sansa do whatever Sansa needed to do to get her breathing under control again.

…

“Would you be able to watch the kids for a little bit after dinner tonight?” Sansa asked Jon as Eleanor set the table for dinner and Jon pulled the roast pan from the oven.

Jon looked at her as he went to go set it on the potholders on the table. “Is everything alright? Something’s wrong. Is everything alright?” He asked again.

“Of course,” Sansa did her best to give him a smile; a smile that was complete bullshit. “I just… I wanted to take Martha for a long walk and I kind of want to get out of here for a while.”

That part was the truth, at least.

Jon came to her. “What’s going on?” He asked in a lowered voice so little ears couldn’t hear.

“Nothing,” Sansa shook her head. “I just need…” she took a deep breath. “Can you watch the kids after dinner? I won’t be gone long.”

“Of course I’ll watch the kids, but please, Sansa. Tell me what’s wrong.”

She looked into his concerned face and his concerned eyes and she wanted to tell him. She really did. But, she couldn’t. Jon had already done so much for her and for her in regards to Ramsay. He had _killed_ this man for her. Sansa couldn’t drag Jon back into it. He rightfully thought Ramsay was in the past and would never pop his awful head into their lives again.

And why had he? Why now, after all of this time, had Ramsay appeared to her again?

No, she couldn’t tell Jon.

Sansa leaned in and kissed him. “I’ll tell you. I promise. Just not right now.”

Jon stared at her and she knew that she couldn’t get away with not telling him forever. Jon wouldn’t let her go very long without telling him. Sansa just had to figure out how and exactly what she would tell him.

…

After dinner, the kids helped with the cleanup and Sansa made sure she had her purse and phone. She made the kids promise that they would be good for dad and she kissed all of them on their heads – and Jon on the lips – before she hooked the leash onto Martha and they left the house with her own promise that she would be back soon.

She knew Jon was standing in the front doorway, watching her, so as soon as she reached the corner of the block – where he couldn’t see her anymore – Sansa stopped and knelt down in front of Martha. Reaching into her purse, having hidden it from Jon because if he had seen it, he would have demanded she tell him what was going on and then would insist he come with her, she pulled out Martha’s orange reflective vest that she wore when Sansa had to take her somewhere public. With a few snaps of Velcro, Martha was wearing her “Therapy Dog” vest.

“Ready?” Sansa then asked her. Martha wagged her tail and licked Sansa’s chin and Sansa was able to smile. “We’re not going to talk tonight. We’ll just listen and see how it goes.”

Martha kept wagging her tail as if she agreed with that and Sansa stood up again. She pulled out her phone and brought up the map she had looked up earlier. It shouldn’t be a long walk at all.

“Alright,” Sansa exhaled a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

Together, with Martha trotting in front of her, Sansa headed down the road in the direction of the mental health center where the group meeting was being held that evening.

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I was done with this universe, but my Jon/Sansa muse hasn't been the best lately and I still love this universe. I have missed this universe. Thank you to everyone who wanted to read more. This won't be long, but I began this entire universe with Sansa and I wanted to get back to her.


	2. Chapter 2

…

In Wintertown, Sansa would attend a Domestic Abuse Survivors support group and some nights, her mother or Tormund would come with her. Sometimes, Sansa would speak and sometimes, she wouldn’t. And sometimes, no one talked and it was just a chance for people to come together and know that they weren’t going through anything alone.

Sansa wondered what it was going to be like in Greywater.

The mental health center was a single-story brick building, bright lights shining from inside. Still, when Sansa walked to the front door, for whatever reason, she thought that it might be lock. Of course, it wasn’t and Sansa stepped inside. There was a bulletin board and Sansa went there, Martha sitting patiently and obediently as Sansa looked the papers pinned.

Self-Mutilation support group… Incest Survivors support group… Eating Disorders support group…

She found the flier for the support group for domestic abuse and saw that it was in room six.

Sansa looked down the length of the hallway and then down to Martha. The dog looked up at her, waiting and looking as if they were about to have a conversation.

Did Sansa really need to be here? It had only been one nightmare. Everyone had nightmares. The kids all had nightmares and Sansa would hug them and promise them that nothing was going to happen to them. And depending on the hour and severity of the nightmare, she would make them a mug of hot chocolate.

Why hadn’t Sansa done that for herself? Hot chocolate was her go-to for so many things and she hadn’t made any for herself after she had her own awful nightmare? Maybe that was all she needed. She didn’t need to be here at a support group. She could just stop at the coffee shop she had passed on her way here, buy herself a cup of hot chocolate and everything would be fine.

Everything would be fine.

…

Just out of curiosity, she told herself, Sansa looked into room six.

There were chairs set out in a circle and there were six other women. They were just talking; even an occasional laugh. If Sansa hadn’t known what this room was, she would have thought it would have been a book club or something along those lines.

Should she go in?

In Wintertown, it took her months to actually get into the room just like this one. Each week, she made a little more progress, getting closer and closer until she actually stepped through. Tonight, she had actually made it all the way down the hallway _to_ the room. That was already a major accomplishment. If she didn’t step through tonight, she had already won half of this battle.

Sansa looked down to Martha, who stood at her side, looking up at her, obviously wondering what they were waiting for. She smiled down at the dog and put a hand on her head before looking back into the room. Now that she knew where it was, she could easily come back another night.

But… why would she come all this way and not go in? She was not a young girl in her twenties anymore, Brandon just a little boy at home and she and Jon _slowly_ starting something between them. She was in her thirties now with a husband and five children and she had already come so far. Why turn around now? She wasn’t in the same place she had been when she first tried to come to these group meetings.

Breathing deeply through her nose and exhaling through her mouth, her fingers tightened on the handle of Martha’s leash.

Go on, Sansa. One foot in front of another, she reminded herself just in case she had forgotten how.

A woman from inside the room looked up at that precise moment and her eyes locked with Sansa’s. She had long, black hair and pale skin. She was beautiful. Snow White, Sansa thought to herself as soon as she saw her. The woman smiled and stood up, coming right for her.

“Hi,” Snow White said, still smiling and her smile was so warm and friendly, Sansa couldn’t help, but smile at her in return. “I’m Shae,” she said and held out her hand.

Sansa shook it without thinking of doing anything otherwise. “I’m Sansa. And this is Martha.” She wondered if therapy dogs were common in this center for all of these different meetings.

Shae just kept smiling. “It’s so nice to meet you both. Would you like to come in? You came on a good night. It’s wine, cheese and crackers night. But, of course, if you need to talk, you have six people who are here to listen and help.”

Sansa looked at Shae and then past her shoulder into the room. She honestly didn’t know what to do.

She knew she should go in, but she kept telling herself that it had just been one nightmare. Surely, she was strong enough to get herself through one nightmare and she would start looking for a therapist from the list of referrals Dr. Tarth had given her.

“If you don’t want to come inside, there are a couple chairs down the hall. We can sit there and I’ll bring us some wine and cheese and crackers to eat,” Shae offered.

Sansa’s eyes went back to her. “You would do that?” She almost whispered.

“Of course,” Shae said as if there was nothing else for her to say.

Sansa thought that over only for just a moment. “No,” she shook her head. “I can come in.”

Shae smiled and then took Sansa’s other hand as if they had been dear friends for years. “You can.”

…

It was around eight o’clock when Sansa, with Martha, came in through the front door again.

“I said no, Brandon!” was the first thing she heard. She bent down to unhook the dog leash and toe out of her tennis shoes.

“But, dad! Every guy at my lunch table has seen it and I need to see it, too, if I want to talk with them,” Brandon pleaded with Jon and from the sounds of it, this pleading had been going on for some time.

“Mama!” Julia exclaimed, coming down the stairs, dressed in her pajamas already – as she should have been at this time. The younger four had a bedtime of eight-thirty and Brandon was permitted to stay up until ten if he wanted.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Sansa smiled. “Have you brushed your teeth?”

“Yes!” From her step, Julia then leaned forward and breathed in Sansa’s face so she could smell for herself the familiar scent of Hubba Bubba bubblegum toothpaste.

Sansa laughed. “Good girl.” She held out her hand and Julia took it, hopping down the last two steps, and together, they went back into the open kitchen and family room.

On the television, an episode of _Top Chef_ was playing. Each night, everyone had their names in a mug and one was drawn. The person whose name was pulled got to choose what was watched on television that night. It was the only way to do it in a family their size without an explosive fight erupting. And with _Top Chef_ on, it was either Max or Julia’s name that had been pulled. Those two loved this show.

Max sat on the floor in between the television and the coffee table, playing with his toy castle set and shaking his head at a decision that one of the chefs have just made. “Not mascarpone!”

Sansa knew that he had no idea what mascarpone was, but he was so adorable nonetheless. George was laying on the couch, stretched out and reading a book. That wasn’t a common sight to see.

“What are you reading?” Sansa had to ask. “Something for school?”

“Yeah,” George sighed. “That book-a-month thing for class Eleanor was talking about at dinner? I figured I’d just get it over with so I don’t have to worry about it.” He held it up for Sansa to see.

_Hatchet_ by Gary Paulsen

“What do you think about it so far?” Sansa asked.

“Glad I’m getting it out of the way,” George said, getting back to it, and Sansa smiled.

Julia let go of Sansa’s hand to go around the couch, plopping down and stretching out so she could get back to watching the episode as well. The sliding screen door was pulled open and Jon came in from the back deck, followed by Brandon. Jon stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw that Sansa was home.

He didn’t say anything. He just went straight to her and put his arms around her, tugging her into a hug.

“Are you alright?” Jon asked her in a whisper and she could hear how worried he still was even with her here again, Sansa’s throat growing thick as she heard it.

She nodded her head into his shoulder.

“You’ll tell me later?” He then asked.

This time, Sansa hesitated for a moment. “When I’m ready,” she whispered back and it wasn’t the answer he wanted, she knew, but it was the answer she could give him right now.

Jon squeezed his arms around her at that and then with a kiss to her own shoulder, he stepped back.

“Dad,” Brandon began again. “You can sit right next to me when I watch it.”

“When? I love how you think that if you slip that word in, I’ll just go along with it,” Jon said, going into the kitchen and getting himself a bottle of water from the refrigerator. “Our son is trying to convince me that he should be able to watch _Goodfellas_.”

“Absolutely not,” Sansa said immediately while frowning at Brandon.

“Mom, this is really important.”

“No, it’s not. Getting a tetanus shot? That’s important. Getting a good night’s sleep? Very important. Not getting arrested? Very-”

“I get it, mom, but to me? Your fourteen-year-old son you just moved to a brand new place while in high school and who is trying to make friends? _This_ _is_ really important.”

Sansa knew the movie. Robb and Jon had rented it one night and Sansa had been in the room with them – not watching it, but reading a book and not wanting to leave her comfy spot in the recliner. Of course, within two minutes of the moving starting and hearing one of the main guys violently stab another guy, all within the first two minutes, she had hightailed it out of the room so fast, it was like a cartoon with smoke behind her.

There was no way she was going to let Brandon watch that movie. He was fourteen and even if Jon sat with him the entire time, he was _fourteen_.

But Brandon made a very good point and he probably knew it, too, because their kids were too smart. Brandon was the new kid and he was making friends – trying to – and fitting in – trying to. Being on cross country (and probably being one of the better runners, Sansa assumed) would only take him so far. Fourteen was such a delicate age. An _awful_ , delicate age and Sansa didn’t want him to do something just because all of the other kids were doing it. Yet… he was fourteen and the new kid.

Sansa looked to Jon and it was obvious that he was thinking of the exact same thing. Jon looked to Sansa and she didn’t nod her head, but she knew that she didn’t have to.

Jon sighed heavily. “The movie is two-and-a-half hours so we’re not doing it tonight.”

“You’ll watch it with your dad the _entire_ time. I’ll take your brothers and sisters out of the house for a while,” Sansa added. “I’m serious, Brandon. You’re watching it with your dad.” Jon owned the movie and not that she thought that Brandon would sneak it to his room – he could have easily done that already – but she had to make sure he knew that although Jon and Sansa were letting him watch this movie, there were still rules and her foot was still down.

Brandon nodded quickly. “I got it. Can we start it tonight after the others go to bed?” He then asked Jon. “Maybe just the first hour or so?”

Jon looked to Sansa. “I was actually hoping we could talk…”

Sansa shook her head and gave him the smallest smile. “Tomorrow?”

Hopefully, she’d be up for telling Jon tomorrow. She _had_ to tell Jon. He was just as fragile as she was in some aspects. If she didn’t tell him, Jon’s mind would start racing, trying to figure it out himself and he was begin to worry and maybe, he’d begin to crave a beer to comfort his active mind. Years of sobriety ruined because she couldn’t talk to her husband.

She knew she couldn’t keep her Ramsay nightmare and the support group a secret from him. She didn’t want to keep it from him. She just honestly didn’t know how to even begin this conversation with him.

“I’m holding you to that.”

“So, can we? Can we start it tonight?” Brandon asked.

“What movie are you talking about?” George asked from the couch, his book still open, but he hadn’t turned a page in a few minutes, he admitted. 

“A documentary,” Jon answered, knowing that that would stop George from wondering any further. The last thing they needed was George wanting to watch _Goodfellas_ , too.

…

Brandon got himself ready for bed as Jon and Sansa put the other kids to bed. Luckily – and thankfully – George, Eleanor, Julia and Max went without fuss. Max only needed one story read to him and Julia only needed the closet checked for monsters.

“Not under the bed?” Jon asked.

“Nope!” Julia shook her head and she said that answer way too quickly.

Normally, Jon would be _highly_ suspicious of why Julia didn’t want him looking under the bed, but to be honest, only half of his mind was on monster check duty that night. His other half – maybe three-fourths – was with Sansa. He tried to think of what was wrong. It had to be the move. What else could it be? She had been so focused on getting the kids ready and settled, Jon knew that she hadn’t really been focusing on herself. It was a bad habit of hers. Sansa was always last in Sansa’s life.

He couldn’t force her to tell him though. She told him that she would tomorrow and he meant it. He wasn’t going to let tomorrow come and go without Sansa talking with him.

He heard running steps coming down from the third floor stairs and then Brandon appeared in the girls’ bedroom doorway in his basketball shorts and tee-shirt he slept in.

“I’m ready.”

“Did you brush your teeth?” Jon closed the closet door.

Brandon instantly ran down the hall for the bathroom.

Jon went to Eleanor and kissed her on the head. She was half asleep already and didn’t even seem to notice. He would ask her about under Julia’s bed tomorrow. Eleanor wouldn’t tattle on her sister, Jon knew, but he might be able to get something out of her if he promised a trip to the pool this weekend.

“Good night, daddy,” Julia beamed and Jon smiled, kissing her on the head.

“Good night, Julia.”

He turned off the light, making sure the nightlight was doing its job before stepping out into the hall. He went into his and Sansa’s bedroom to find her already in her pajamas and sitting up in their bed, looking at her laptop placed on her thighs. Martha was passed out across the foot of the bed and Jon wished that he could ask the dog about where she and Sansa had gone that night.

Jon closed the door for a moment, already yawning as he changed himself into his pajamas. He was more than ready for bed, himself, but he had another hour before he could and he really did love _Goodfellas_. It was his second favorite movie after _Braveheart_ and he was always up for watching either of them. But at least he didn’t have to watch the entire thing tonight. He still wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about having Brandon watch it. Maybe if he was sixteen…

No. Jon remembered when he was fourteen and what it was like when he was fourteen. At that age, he couldn’t wait to catch up with the world and he hated everything for always being beyond him. As an adult, Jon knew that the things that what he thought mattered at fourteen didn’t mean shit anymore, but Brandon was fourteen now and he wouldn’t believe Jon if he told him that; or possibly wouldn’t care.

Once changed into his own basketball shorts and tee-shirt, he opened the bedroom door again and then carried his dirty clothes into the hamper in the bathroom and brushed his teeth. Coming out again, Sansa was still on her laptop and he came and sat right on the edge of the bed on her side. She lifted her eyes and smiled at him.

“Can I take you out tomorrow night?” He asked.

The question made her laugh. “And where would you take me?”

Jon shrugged. “Somewhere we haven’t been before.” He smiled when she laughed at that. “And I’ll get a babysitter so don’t worry about that either.”

Before Sansa could say anything, Brandon appeared in their doorway.

“I brushed my teeth,” he let them know.

“Did you floss?” Sansa asked.

Brandon’s smile instantly disappeared. “You’re doing this on purpose,” he grumbled and turned, stomping away – returning to the bathroom.

“I love you,” Jon told her. “You know that? You know that I love you?”

“Of course I know that, Jon. If I didn’t know anything else, I’d still know that,” Sansa said.

Jon leaned in and kissed her. At least he knew that whatever was wrong with Sansa, thinking her husband didn’t love her wasn’t it.

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much to those reading this one. I'm not entirely sure how long this one will be, but I do want to get a little into the Snow's life in the Neck.


	3. Chapter 3

…

Greywater’s first week of school was a short one, starting on Wednesday and a half-day on Friday, so by noon on Friday, Sansa had all of the kids back home with her.

Brandon changed his clothes so he could go running, Julia was playing upstairs in her bedroom, Eleanor was at the kitchen table, working on some worksheets so she didn’t have to worry about them over the weekend, Max was in the backyard, throwing a ball for Martha, and George came to Sansa as she folded more laundry, asking if he could go with Molly to her physical therapy.

“I don’t want you to bother her,” Sansa said as she and George left their house to walk next door to the Wheaton house. She wanted to speak with Molly’s mother, Mary. “Physical therapy would be very important to Molly and you can’t be distracting her, George.”

“I wouldn’t do that, mom,” George shook his head. “I just want to help.”

Sansa smiled at that and put an affectionate hand on the back of his head as they climbed the flight of stairs to the Wheaton front door. As soon as she opened it and saw who was there, Mary Wheaton smiled. And she just kept smiling as Sansa asked her if George could come. Molly was in the den, Mary walking them down the hallway to the back of the house. Sansa smiled as she watched George go straight for the girl and saw the way Molly’s eyes lit up as soon as she saw George and George bumped his fist against Molly’s.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what does Molly do at her physical therapy?” Sansa asked.

“Well, she has these tension bands they put around her legs that she pulls against to help build her muscles. They do the same with her arms. She also has balls to squeeze in her hands and between her knees. And then, there’s this walker-sort of thing that we tie her to, and we help her walk while working on her back. It’s not as barbaric as it sounds.”

Sansa wasn’t judging. Why would she? She didn’t know the first thing about physical therapy, and she didn’t have a child with cerebral palsy.

“Will she be able to walk one day?” Sansa asked.

“I hope so,” Mary smiled faintly. “If we can build her legs up enough and work some on her back, she’ll have to wear braces and have a walker, but getting her to walk, that would be the ultimate goal. It might be years though before it happens; if it happens at all.”

Sansa nodded, not sure what to say, and both moms watched their children. George was sitting on the couch, leaning forward towards Molly and telling her all about his day at school, pausing occasionally as if Molly talked back. Sansa didn’t know what it was, but there was something about Molly that George had just completely connected to. She loved her son so, so much, but he had always been hers and Jon’s little tornado; always with too much energy and not enough ways to burn through it all.

Befriending someone with cerebral palsy just wasn’t something she expected from George.

“I don’t want George to be a bother or get in the way,” Sansa said.

That made Mary smile. “I can’t imagine George ever being either of those things. Molly…” she stopped herself for a moment, watching her daughter. “Molly’s father left about five years ago,” Mary then said in a quieter voice. “He couldn’t handle all that came with taking care of Molly, so he walked out.”

“I’m sorry,” Sansa said softly. If one of their children had been born with a disability, Sansa couldn’t imagine Jon just walking out. But not every wife had a husband like Jon, she knew.

“My daughter may not be able to speak, but I know that she has always blamed herself for him leaving. It’s been so long since I’ve seen her truly happy, but your son seems to want to be her friend and no one has ever wanted to be her friend before. She’s happy when they’re spending time together.”

“I’m so glad,” Sansa smiled faintly and for whatever reason, she felt like crying. She was so proud of her son for going to this girl who everyone else probably just ignored whenever they saw her. “Do you mind if I ask what you do? Do you work? I’ve been wanting to invite you over for tea, but I haven’t been wanting to bother you.” All of Molly’s special needs, plus a nurse living with them, Sansa imagined that none of it was cheap; though it was far from being her business.

“I do. I actually keep meaning to bring one over to you,” Mary said. The Wheaton house was set up much like the Snow house next door and there was the office off of the den that Mary now led Sansa to.

Sansa gasped when she stepped into the room. “You’re a painter.”

The easel was set up in front of the window, blank canvases were resting against the walls on the floor, other paintings were hanging on the wall, and there was a mess of paints on a table next to the easel with brushes.

“I am,” Mary smiled. “I paint for a greeting card company.”

“That’s amazing.” Sansa’s eyes roamed over the paintings on the wall. There was a little bit of everything – flowers, beautiful landscapes, dogs, cats, and even a collection of ghosts for the Halloween season.

“George explained your love for the Beatles and where his and Eleanor’s names came from,” Mary said and went to a collection of finished canvases, leaning in the corner. She flipped through them. “I painted this one when Sgt. Pepper turned 50. The company had put out a special edition greeting card for it.”

She found the canvas she was looking for and turned towards Sansa, smiling, and turned it around for Sansa to see. It was of the four Beatles, in their famous rainbow shiny suits from the album cover.

“Oh, it’s amazing, Mary,” Sansa said, taking steps forward to look at it more closely.

“I’m glad you think so because I wanted to give it to you.”

“What? Oh, I couldn’t-”

“The card has already come out and if they want to print more, they already have my artwork on file. They don’t need the original. And this is my welcome-to-your-new-home gift and also a thank-you for George.”

Again, Sansa felt like she could start crying. The painting was beautiful, but even more so was Mary’s gesture. They didn’t even know one another; only through their children did they know anything about one another. Sansa and her family had just moved in next door three months ago.

“I hope we can be friends,” Mary then said.

Sansa nodded her head quickly. “Me, too.”

And then, Sansa couldn’t stop from hurrying to close the space between them and hugging Mary tightly.

…

At home, Sansa found a spot on the wall in the family den that would be perfect for the Beatles painting, but she would have to wait for Jon to come home because it would need stronger nails to hang.

The back sliding door opened, and Max and Martha entered, both panting, and Max’s curls were damp with sweat. Martha went immediately for her water bowl before laying down over one of the AC vents and Sansa went to the refrigerator to pour Max a tall glass of water.

“I’m going to want you to get out of those sweaty clothes and take a bath,” Sansa told him. Holding his cup of water, Max frowned up at her, but Sansa just looked at him, daring him to raise an argument about that. “And with your dad and me going out tonight, you are going to be good for whoever your daddy has gotten to watch over you tonight because if you’re not good, you’re going to be in so much trouble, Max. I mean it. If your daddy takes us to the pool this weekend, you won’t get to go if you’re not good tonight.”

Max continued chugging his water. When he was finished, he handed Sansa the empty glass. “I know, mama. You told me a gazillion times.”

“A gazillion plus one,” Sansa said, placing the glass in the dishwasher.

“Mom?” Eleanor had left her homework to run a hand down Martha’s back. “Can we open the refrigerator for Martha? She’s really hot.”

Sansa looked to her dog, panting heavily as the AC blasted cold air from beneath her. She went to the freezer and found the cooling pad that was folded on the top shelf. She unfolded it, the blue gel frozen inside, and she spread it across the floor, kneeling down.

“Come here, girl,” Sansa said, and Martha managed to pull herself up, coming to the pad Sansa was patting.

Eleanor came and knelt down next to Sansa as Martha dropped onto the frozen cooling pad. Sansa swore the dog sighed with relief.

“Maybe we can go back to Wintertown for fall break,” Eleanor suggested, looking to Sansa. “They should have the first snow by then. I bet Martha will love to see snow again.”

“I bet she would,” Sansa smiled. “And I think that’s an excellent idea.”

They would have to wait and see how Jon’s work schedule would be and check Brandon’s cross country schedule, but Sansa thought going to Wintertown for a couple days would be loved by all. Sansa hadn’t talked with her parents for a few days – _very_ strange for all of them – but she knew that both sets of grandparents were more than ready for a visit.

Eleanor beamed widely and Sansa leaned in, giving her a kiss on the head.

“Where is dad taking you tonight, mom?” Eleanor asked.

“He won’t tell me. He says it’s a surprise.”

“Are you excited?”

Sansa smiled. “So excited.”

…

It had been a long time since she and Jon had gone out on an actual date. In Wintertown, it had been so easy. They would just call up one of their parents to see if they could babysit for a couple of hours. Even with so many people in their lives who were able to watch the kids, Jon and Sansa never truly went out. If anything, they would just go out for coffee or a quick dinner.

This morning, before he left for work, Jon gave her a kiss and told her to wear a dress.

“A dress?” She had instantly been surprised and intrigued.

“Yep. I’m taking you out on the town tonight,” Jon had given her a grin and had made her laugh.

A night on the town. She honestly had no idea what that would be like – not in Greywater – and since Jon had just suggested taking her out just last night, she wondered if he had been planning this for much longer or if all of his plans had been made today during whatever break he had given himself for lunch. Either way, Sansa wouldn’t mind. No matter what Jon had planned, she knew she was going to love it. Just them, spending time together and seeing some of this new place where they now lived. Maybe it would even get her inspiration for _something_. She still hadn’t been able to sketch a single design.

She wanted to tell him about Ramsay, her nightmare and the support group - especially since she was going to go back to the group next week. She had promised Shae she would be back and honestly, she wanted to go back. 

She _would_ tell him tonight. It just depended on where he was taking her. Some super, fancy restaurant wouldn’t be the place. A concert or movie definitely wouldn’t be the place. She had to tell him though. She hadn’t had a nightmare since that horrible one during her afternoon nap on the couch, but it still made her stomach tighten with fear whenever she thought about it; and that was when she had even a moment of time she wasn’t doing something else.

Maybe she could just blurt it out when they were in the car, going wherever they were going.

It might be best if she just got it out of the way so they could both enjoy their date.

…

“Julia?”

Sansa knocked gently on the door. The door wasn’t closed all the way and she pushed it open, poking her head into the bedroom. Julia was sitting on the floor, her back against her bed, and she turned her head, smiling when she saw Sansa.

“Hi, mama.”

Sansa smiled and came into the room. She stepped around the bed to see what Julia was doing, but she only saw a coloring book and box of crayons.

“Are you alright, sweetheart? You’ve been up here for almost an hour.”

She came and sat down on the floor, in front of Julia. In Wintertown, Julia had had a boy bullying her; a bully who Julia had kept a secret from her parents. Sansa was not going to let Julia keep a secret like that from her in their new home. Sansa couldn’t imagine though that someone would be teasing Julia already though. The school year had just begun two-and-a-half days ago.

And she still had no idea why anyone would be teasing and bullying Julia in the first place.

“I’m alright, mama. I’m just coloring.” The coloring book showed a picture of a unicorn that Julia had colored mint green – her favorite color.

Sansa smiled. “It’s very beautiful,” she said and Julia smiled, too. “Did you like school this week? Was Mrs. Tennison as nice as we thought she would be after open house?”

Julia nodded quickly. “She’s very nice. Did you know that snakes don’t have legs, ears or eyelids, mama?”

“I did not know that.”

“Snakes also need the heat of the sun and that’s why so many snakes live in the Neck. They like the heat.”

“Did Mrs. Tennison teach you that?”

“I read it. She has a bunch of animal books and I was reading her snake book. And did you know that you could feed one mouse to a snake and he would be full for over seven days?”

“I didn’t know that either.”

Julia smiled, pleased that she could teach her mama some things.

Sansa smiled, too. She supposed there were far worse things than snakes that Julia could be interested in. What, she didn’t know. Serial killers, maybe? That would be worse than snakes for a six-year-old girl.

“Would you like to help me and Eleanor pick a dress for me to wear on my date with daddy tonight?”

“Yes!” Julia gasped. She hopped to her feet and Sansa stood up, too.

“Eleanor!” Sansa called out as they stepped into the hallway.

“I’m already in your bedroom, mom!” Eleanor called back.

It seemed like Sansa wasn’t the only one excited for tonight. She hoped Jon had managed to secure a babysitter for five kids tonight.

…

Sansa heard the front door open at 4:30 – which was the exact time that Jon said he would be home.

She was surprised, to be honest. Fridays were usually early-quitting days for contractors, but since moving to Greywater, Jon had been so busy, 5:30 had become his usual time of coming home no matter the day, but he had told her that he would be home early tonight and he had somehow managed it.

“I’m home!” Jon called out as he always did.

“Dad!” “Daddy!” The kids then all greeted him as they always did.

Even Martha would get into it, letting out a bark.

Sansa stayed in their attached bathroom, putting on her makeup. She still had to do her hair and the dress she and the girls had picked out was laid out on the bed.

“Sans?”

“In here!” She answered as she heard his heavy boots on the stairs.

She poked her head from the bathroom, smiling when Jon came into the room with Max on his back, Martha trotting with him and Brandon came in last. Jon smiled the second he saw her and he came to her, giving her a kiss.

“Blah,” Max frowned from his back.

“Alright.” Jon bent down so Max could slide off and once he was, Jon stood again and he gave Sansa another kiss. “I’m going to take a shower and then we’ll get out of here by 5:30.”

“Are you going to tell me now where we’re going?” Sansa asked.

“No,” Jon gave her a smile.

“Were you able to get a babysitter or is this date night turning into a family night?”

Jon’s smile grew. “I got us a babysitter.” He turned and looked to Brandon. He grinned and moved back towards him, clapping a hand on their teenage son’s shoulder. “Meet our babysitter for this evening.”

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, when I write modern Westeros, I always imagine it as mix of the US/UK and it obviously exists in our world since I include so many things we know. This story/chapter is no exception and you'll see what I mean with that.

…

When Jon hopped into the shower, Sansa finished getting dressed and then went downstairs. On his way home from work, Jon had ordered pizza for the kids for dinner and the doorbell rang just as Sansa came down. From the looks of it, it was an extra-large. In the middle of puberty, Brandon was eating them out of house and home and an extra-large _might_ be enough food to feed all five children.

“I’m worried about you,” Sansa said as she got paper plates from the pantry.

“It’ll be fine, mom,” Brandon said, waiting as George and Eleanor helped themselves to pepperoni square slices before he took four for himself – just to start.

“Did dad only get pepperoni?” Eleanor asked while looking around as if there was another pizza box somewhere that she had missed.

“That’s what it looks like, sweetheart,” Sansa answered. “Let’s not be vegetarian tonight, okay? We’re going to make this as easy for your brother as possible.”

Eleanor nodded at that without argument and went to the table. Sansa then fixed plates for Julia and Max while still watching Brandon as he got one of his Gatorade bottles from the refrigerator. He noticed and he gave her a smile.

“I promise. It’ll be fine,” Brandon said to her. “We’ll pull names out of the cup. We’ll watch a couple of movies. Dad already promised that you won’t be gone forever. It’ll be fine.”

“You’re fourteen,” Sansa said even though she knew Brandon hated when either she or Jon pointed that out to him. “Taking care of four children is hard for someone much older than fourteen.”

Brandon nodded as he took a sip from the Gatorade bottle. He then looked to Sansa. “But you need this.”

“I’m fine,” Sansa said – automatically – as she went to the table to give all of the kids napkins. She then poured glasses of milk for the four.

“No, you’re not, mom,” Brandon told her quietly as he passed her to sit down at the table.

She and Brandon had always had that kind of relationship with one another; no matter how many years had passed or how much had changed since it had been just the two of them. They had always been close, and they had always understood one another – even when it might be that the other wish they didn’t.

Like now. Sansa wished that Brandon didn’t know things about her. He was too young to understand that his mom needed some time away from things and he was at that teenage boy age where he shouldn’t have even cared about his mom or what she needed. And he should have been raising a complete fit for having to babysit his brothers and sisters on a Friday night.

It was moments like this – even as she wished that Brandon didn’t understand – that Sansa was reminded again just how he was nothing like his sperm donor. He was just _such_ a good kid.

(And that must have meant that she was good, too, and Ramsay hadn’t beaten that out of her.)

Upstairs, the shower was off, and she could hear Jon moving around. Looking to the clock on the microwave, it was fifteen minutes after five. She looked back to the children eating their pizza.

“Alright, let’s do the cup first,” Sansa decided and went into the family room to fetch it from where it always sat, next to the television, on the wooden television stand. She made sure the slips of paper were in there, folded, and holding her hand over it, she shook the cup as she came back to the table. "Who wants to pick one out tonight?"

"Me!" Max exclaimed before anyone else could.

No one put up an argument and they all watched as Sansa held the cup in front of him and Max squeezed his eyes shut, reaching in and fishing around. He took his time before pulling out one of the slips of paper and he unfolded it.

“George!” He declared.

“I would like to use my veto,” Eleanor responded instantly.

“You don’t even know what I’m going to pick yet,” George gave her a grin. “It’s stupid to waste your one veto already before even knowing.”

“You’re going to pick Indiana Jones. You _always_ pick Indiana Jones when it’s your turn,” she reminded her twin as if it was something George didn’t already know about himself. “I can’t handle Indiana Jones again.”

“Well, just for that and because you’ve already used your veto, I’m _not_ going to pick Indiana Jones,” George informed her, his grin widening as Eleanor narrowed her eyes at him. George then looked to Brandon. “ _The Empire Strikes Back_?” He suggested.

Brandon gave a grin, too. “Sounds good.”

Eleanor shoved her brother in the arm and George just laughed. When it was George’s turn, it was either _Indiana Jones_ or one of the original _Star Wars_. He had quite a devotion to Harrison Ford and they all knew that it wasn’t as if Eleanor didn’t enjoy those movies, but they had all seen them so many times and George never chose anything differently.

“Alright. So George’s pick is _The Empire Strikes Back_ ,” Sansa said, taking the slip of paper back from Max and returning it to the cup for tomorrow night when they would do this again. “Now, when your dad and I leave in just a few minutes, Brandon is going to be in charge. What he says, goes, and there will be _no_ arguments. You will be good for him. You. Will. Be. Good,” Sansa emphasized. “Let me hear all of you say it.”

“We’ll be good for him,” George, Eleanor, Julia and Max all recited.

“And if you’re not…” she trailed off, letting the threat hang in the air.

The kids knew their parents well enough to know that as far as parents went, Jon and Sansa were pretty easy going. Not that Jon and Sansa let their kids act like brats and get away with everything, but allowing their children a little bit of freedom and trust went a long way. But when Jon and Sansa did have to lay the law down with one of the kids, or all of them, they did not mess about in punishing them.

Hearing steps on the stairs, Sansa turned and smiled as Jon came down. He was wearing khakis and a white shirt, his hair down, and when he saw her, he stopped a moment. Her dress was simple, but she loved how she felt when wearing it. Green with three-quarter sleeves, it hugged her body just slightly. It also covered nearly all of her scars. She didn’t hide them when around family, but out in public, surrounded with strangers, she didn’t feel like getting stared at; whether people meant to stare or not.

She wore her hair up because it was just too hot and humid outside to wear it down. She also wore simple black ballet flats because she had no idea where Jon was taking her and walking might be involved.

“So beautiful,” Jon said and Sansa kept smiling.

“You, too.”

Max let out a laugh. “Daddy’s beautiful!”

“He is,” Sansa said, laughing too. “And you look just like him and you’re beautiful, too.” She leaned down and began peppering him with kisses.

“Mama,” Max whined while still laughing and trying to get away.

“Daddy, can we have ice cream later?” Julia asked.

“That’s up to Brandon. But if you do, have the ice cream sandwiches.” Jon looked to Brandon. “Julia and Max splits one,” he reminded him and Brandon nodded as he chewed another slice of pizza.

“Where are you taking mom tonight, dad?” Eleanor asked.

Jon just looked to Sansa and smiled. “That’s still a surprise.”

…

After kisses and hugs to all of the children and making sure that Brandon had all of the phone numbers he could possibly need in the few hours they would be gone, Jon and Sansa were finally able to leave.

“Come here,” Jon smiled at her once they were in Jon’s truck and with her own smile, she leaned over the middle console. Jon slid his hands onto her cheeks and pulled her to him, capturing her lips.

Sansa was more than happy to sink against him, kissing him, her own hands lifting to his face.

“You excited?” Jon asked once they parted.

“Yes. Please tell me where we’re going.”

“Not yet.”

“Jon,” she laughed, but Jon just grinned and with his keys in the ignition, he turned the truck on and pulled back out of the driveway. Sansa looked up at their house one more time before Jon drove down the street. “I hope they’ll be alright,” she said, turning her head back towards him.

“They’ll be fine,” Jon said confidently. “Despite the grey they’re giving me, they’re good kids.”

“You have grey? You didn’t tell me.” In all honesty, she would expect Jon to freak out a little when he found his first grey hair among his black curls.

“I did. I had one. I plucked it out.”

“Jon, you shouldn’t do that,” Sansa smiled. “More will just come back faster.”

“Old wives tale,” he replied to that and Sansa just laughed, shaking her head. “They’ll be fine,” he said again.

Sansa nodded and exhaled a deep breath. She was excited for going out on a date with her husband, but she was sure other mothers felt like this; excited for a night out, but nervous to leave her children behind.

She looked to Jon as he drove. He was completely relaxed, his finger tapping along to the song playing over the radio at the moment – a John Lennon solo song, _“Nobody Told Me”_.

Now would be the perfect time to tell him about her nightmare. About the group therapy. About Ramsay.

But he was smiling and seemed so happy and she was happy, too. She didn’t want Ramsay to ruin this. Talking about him or even thinking about him would ruin this. She had to tell Jon, but not now. Maybe she wouldn’t even tell him tonight.

“Do you know this place?” Jon asked once they turned into a parking lot.

Sansa leaned forward to look at the pretty typical brown building with black edging. BLACK BOTTLE was in a green neon sign hanging in front of the door. She thought for a moment, but then looked to Jon with a shake of her head.

“Should I?”

Jon just smiled and got out of the truck. Sansa unbuckled her seat belt and moved to get out, but before she could, her door opened and Jon was there, still smiling and holding out his hand for her to take. She did and the smile seemed to be unable to leave her face.

“I know it might not seem like much, but this tavern is one of the most popular places in Greywater,” Jon explained – as if he had to – as they crossed the parking lot to the door.

Jon opened it for her to step through first and he followed after, a hand on the small of her back.

Sansa saw that it looked like any other tavern with a bar and tables in the middle and booths along the walls and she would think that she and Jon would be overdressed, but she noted that they definitely weren’t the only ones dressed up.

A young woman appeared with a bright smile. “Hi! Welcome to Black Bottle. Two?” She grabbed menus from a holder on the wall.

“Actually, I have a reservation. Snow,” Jon let her know.

The woman’s eyes seemed to brighten as did her smile. “Yes, right this way!”

Sansa followed her with Jon behind her and just as they reached the booth the woman led them to, Jon’s hand slipped from behind and covered her eyes.

“Jon,” Sansa let out a laugh. “What are you doing?”

“Alright. Now, this is a very special booth.”

“Is it?”

“And I want you to be surprised.”

“Are you going to let me see this very special booth?”

She wondered what on earth he was talking about and she couldn’t wait to find out. Jon kissed the side of her throat and then slowly pulled his hand away. Sansa blinked, adjusting her eyes on the booth in front of them. A very typical tavern booth of dark wood and ketchup and mustard bottles as well as salt and pepper shakers. On the end of the table, she noticed a small gold plaque and she moved closer to read it.

_In this booth, in 1965, during their tour stop in Greywater, John Lennon and George Harrison sat and ate a basket of chips and drank two beers each._

Sansa’s mouth fell open and turned her head to look at Jon. He was watching her, smiling, and Sansa looked back to the booth, reading the plaque once more. Slowly, not even really realizing she was doing it, she reached a hand out and touched the table with light fingers, as if John and George were still sitting there.

“So, obviously, I can’t have the two beers,” Jon said. “But I would love to sit in this booth with you and share a basket of chips.”

Sansa stared at the table for another moment, her heart beginning to beat so quickly, she felt like she could hardly catch her breath. And she didn’t mean to. She truly didn’t mean to – after he had gone through so much trouble like he obviously had – but Sansa looked back to him and before she could stop herself, she began to cry.

…

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/27464164@N07/49971576573/in/photostream/)[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/27464164@N07/49972079576/in/photostream/) Date Night Inspiration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU!! We will be seeing the kids in the next chapter and yes, there will be a disaster.


	5. Chapter 5

…

“What are you doing?” Max asked, leaning over the back of the couch and reading over Brandon’s shoulder.

“Homework,” Brandon answered, looking back and forth between his book and notebook as he wrote notes.

“On a Friday?” Max frowned at that, but Brandon just smiled.

“That’s high school,” he gave a nod.

Brandon and his parents had found out that not only was Greywater a better high school than Wintertown High, but it was also one of the top ranked high schools in _all_ of Westeros. The first three days there and one thing Brandon had already learned was that the next four years weren’t going to be easy; not by a long-shot.

Max flipped himself over the back of the couch, doing a somersault, and landing with a plop next to Brandon.

“How am I being?” He asked his big brother.

Brandon smiled again, still writing in his notebook. “You’re being fine.”

“Will you tell mom and dad?”

“I will,” Brandon promised with a nod.

Max grinned and then slid down from the couch, sitting on the floor, back to his toy castle set. Brandon lifted his eyes from his homework to make sure that everything was going alright. And it seemed to be. _The Empire Strikes Back_ was on the television even if no one seemed to be watching it. Brandon was studying, Max was in the middle of creating one of his elaborate stories with his castle, and Eleanor and George were also on the floor, both laying on their stomachs with a LIFE game-board folded open in front of them. The twins absolutely loved playing LIFE. Martha was laying with them, her body stretched out alongside Eleanor’s.

The only one missing was Julia, but after ice cream sandwiches and the movie had started, she asked Brandon if she could go upstairs to her room.

“Are you alright?” Brandon asked with a frown.

Was she feeling sick? Mom and dad had just left just an hour ago and did he have to call them already so they would have to come back home?

Mom denied it, but Brandon knew her just as well as she knew him. She had always had mild depression – which was perfectly understandable in Brandon’s opinion, knowing what she had gone through before he was born, but she had so many more good days than bad ones.

Moving here though, it had happened slowly – all of them so busy with the move and getting settled – but slowly, he had seen his mom have more bad days than good; whether she would admit such a thing or not. A bad day for mom was being quiet; small smiles that never reached her eyes and moving as if her mind was a thousand miles away from what she was doing. There was sadness hanging over her like Eeyore the donkey and his perpetual gray cloud.

When dad had talked to him privately and Jon had said that he wanted to take mom out for a few hours, Brandon had nearly sighed with relief; it being one of the best things he had heard in a long time. He wasn’t even going to dwell on and freak out over having to babysit his brothers and sisters. He knew his mom needed a night out and away and he wasn’t going to mess it up for her.

“I’m alright,” Julia promised. “I just want to change into my pajamas.”

Brandon had nodded. “Okay. Come back down when you’re done.”

He turned his head now and looked to the clock in the kitchen. Dad had promised they’d be home by nine. Not too late at all and Brandon could manage for a couple of hours more. He could show everyone, including himself, that he could do this without catastrophe.

He turned his head again when he heard steps coming down the stairs from the second floor and it was Julia, in her pajamas. She was holding something; a box. He opened his mouth to tell her to take it back upstairs. All of the kids knew about Julia’s secret box and as siblings, they were sworn to secrecy from telling their parents about it. But they didn’t need it down here with them.

But Julia stopped on the bottom step and before Brandon could say anything, she looked at him with wet eyes and turned the box over so he could see that it was empty.

Brandon jolted from the couch like he had just been electrocuted, his book and notebook tumbling to the floor. Eleanor, George and Max all looked at him, wondering what had happened, and they then saw Julia and her empty box.

“Where is it?” Brandon asked in a rush, hurrying to her, taking the box himself and making sure that it was empty, but of course it was empty. Julia had just showed him that it was. “Where did it go, Julia?”

“I don’t know,” she shook her head, really beginning to cry now. “I went upstairs to get into my pajamas and then to check on Benvolio, but he wasn’t there.”

“Where did he go?” Eleanor asked, hurrying to her feet to go to them, George and Max right behind her.

Julia frowned at her sister for the question they kept asking her. “If I knew that, he’d be in the box.”

“Alright,” Brandon was trying to think. “There’s a snake in the house and we have a little over two hours to find it before mom and dad get home.”

“It could be anywhere,” George said, taking the empty box next to look it over. “Snakes can get into anywhere. We’re never going to find it!”

“Not with that attitude,” Eleanor frowned. She looked back to Julia. “Did you look around our bedroom? Maybe he’s still under your bed.”

“Okay,” Brandon took a deep breath.

His heart felt like it was racing after one of his cross country meets. What if they couldn’t find it? What if they tore the house apart and still couldn’t find it and then mom and dad got home? They weren’t going to let Julia get in trouble. This was on all of them now.

“We’ll check the entire second floor first. The _entire_ second floor. Max, you are going to stand at the top of the stairs and make sure it doesn’t slither past us to get downstairs.”

“Got it,” the boy agreed within an instant.

“Martha,” Brandon said next. The dog had joined them and was now wagging her tail, happy to be finally included. He looked to George who held the box down in front of Martha. “Find the snake, Martha.”

Martha sniffed the box all over, catching a whiff of the scent, all of the children watching. And when Martha then turned and began up the stairs, all five of them followed right after her.

…

They all knew it was a bad idea when they found out about it. Even Max knew it was a bad idea. But none of them told Julia not to do it. If they had found an alligator that she could have snuck into the house, Eleanor would have done that. Julia absolutely loved snakes – a newfound love since moving to the Neck – and when they were all in the backyard, playing, Julia had found one in the grass near the back corner of their fence.

It was about twelve-inches long and green; a run-of-the-mill, harmless garden snake. Julia was so happy to find him and had decided on the name Benvolio. One of Sansa’s favorite movies was _Romeo and Juliet_ , the version from the 60s, and Julia had always loved that name; loved how it sounded when she said it. And in her opinion, Benvolio was the perfect name for a snake.

Getting it inside had been far easier than she would have ever expected.

“Can you carry it in your pocket?” She asked George. “Yours is bigger.”

“Where are you going to put him?” George asked as he carefully slipped the snake into his pocket.

“I’ll see if there’s an empty box in the garage from the move that the swamp didn’t damage,” she said.

And there was. A box on her daddy’s work bench that was the perfect size for Benvolio. She plucked plenty of leaves and collected grass and a stick for it, making his home perfect for him. Inside, mama had been in the office, talking to Grandma Catelyn on the phone, so Julia was able to carry the box upstairs without anyone stopping and asking her about it.

First, she made sure that it would be able to slip under her bed. It would. George then pulled the snake out of his pocket and handed it to her.

“Welcome home, Benvolio,” Julia smiled happily as she gently deposited him inside.

She knew he would be much happier, outside in the backyard, but she already loved him, and she would take care of him. She would be sure to shine the desk lamp on him when it was just the two of them so he would get plenty of heat, too.

“What are you going to feed him?” George asked, leaning forward, peering into the box and to Benvolio.

“I’ll get him a mouse,” Julia shrugged.

George grinned. “Where are you going to get a mouse? Just going to stroll on outside and pick one up at the nearest mouse store for no money?”

“I’ll get a mouse,” she said with more determination.

And the next day, she did just that. She knocked on the janitor’s door in the elementary school and asked him if he saw any mice running around.

“Our school is pretty much mouse-free,” he had smiled at the little girl.

“Well, if you find one, could you please let me know? I have a pet snake who would love to have a mouse,” Julia explained and the janitor smiled more.

“I’ll see what I can do for you,” he promised.

And two days later, he found Julia after school before she hopped onto her bus and presented her with a single mouse in a small box.

Julia had thanked him over and over again and had snuck the mouse into the house by hiding the box in her book-bag and racing right up to her bedroom when she got home. The mouse might have been too big for Benvolio, who was just a garden snake after all, but Julia had no doubt that her snake would manage.

And now, with Benvolio having escaped, Julia was relieved at least that he had eaten and they didn’t have a mouse scurrying loose around the house, too.

Martha’s nose was glued to the floor and as Max stayed at the top of the stairs, the others followed after the dog as she first went into Eleanor and Julia’s room. She sniffed right under Julia’s bed and Brandon hoped that it would be that easy; that the snake was still under there, just pressed into a corner. But after a moment, no such luck and Martha kept moving on, her nose never lifting from the ground.

She then froze and all of the kids froze, too.

Martha then took off running down the hall into George and Max’s bedroom, next to Eleanor and Julia’s. The husky practically threw herself against the taller dresser, barking her head off, and digging underneath, trying to get at whatever was under there.

“George, help me get the drawers,” Brandon said and together, the two began pulling the drawers out so the dresser would be easier to move, both practically throwing them on the floor, clothes flying out.

“Don’t let Martha hurt him!” Julia yelled over Martha’s barking.

“There it is!” Eleanor shouted and they all saw the snake slither quickly out from the dresser, right between George’s legs, it disappearing beneath a pile of tee-shirts.

Martha pounced, nearly knocking George over to get to it.

“No!” Julia cried out, but there was nothing to do.

The dog was too big and ready to attack. They weren’t stupid enough to put themselves between a dog and their hunt. Martha successfully grabbed Benvolio – ripping one of the tee-shirts in the process – and they all watched as Martha shook the snake hanging in her mouth, rapidly back and forth. A moment later, the snake hung limply. Dead.

“No!” Julia wailed at the top of her lungs and burst into tears.

Brandon stepped over one of the dresser drawers on the floor and hefted Julia up in his arms, holding her. She hugged her arms around her brother as she continued crying; harder and harder and Brandon didn’t know what to do to make her stop.

“Eleanor,” he looked to his other sister. “We have to make hot chocolate. Right away.”

“On it,” Eleanor gave a nod.

“George, we have to bury the snake,” Brandon then said to his brother.

“Got it,” George gave a nod.

Julia cried almost hysterically now and Martha gave the dead snake one more shake for good measure.

“What is going on in here?”

Brandon, Eleanor and George’s heads whipped to the bedroom door – Julia still too busy crying into Brandon’s shoulder – and they saw Jon and Sansa standing there, Sansa holding onto Max’s hand and looking at the mess in the bedroom. Her eyes landed on the dead snake in Martha’s mouth.

“Is everyone okay?” Jon asked, taking a step into the bedroom. “Julia?”

“You’re home early,” Brandon said the first thing on his mind.

“We wanted to spend the rest of our evening with you,” Sansa said, looking and quickly able to put together what had clearly happened.

“Here, Julia,” Jon said and gently lifted her from Brandon’s arms into his.

“I promise,” Brandon began to speak quickly. “It wasn’t bad at all. We were all fine. But then-”

“We left the patio door open and a snake slithered inside,” George quickly jumped in.

“And we tried to get it, but it was too fast,” Eleanor added. “Martha was able to corner it in here.”

Sansa and Jon both looked at the kids and then at one another.

Sansa then looked down to Max, who said nothing as he looked up at her. She looked to the other kids. Julia’s tears had slowed down now in her daddy’s arms, but there were still quiet sobs coming from her. Brandon actually felt himself holding his breath. He didn’t mean to lie to his parents or have any of his siblings lie to their parents but they weren’t going to reveal Julia’s secret.

At least the snake hadn’t gotten out when their parents were home. Despite it ending in his death, the snake had chosen the best time to escape from his box. For their benefit, he had done it when the kids were alone.

“Well, if that’s what you said happened, it sounds like that’s what happened,” Sansa decided.

“Come on,” Jon said, rubbing a hand on Julia’s back. “We could all use some hot chocolate.”

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We will cut back to Jon and Sansa finally having a conversation in their tavern booth in the next chapter. THANK YOU very much for those who are reading and sticking with this one!


	6. Chapter 6

…

Sansa tried her hardest to stop crying, but it seemed like the harder she tried to stop, the harder she cried.

She felt Jon gently guiding her into the booth and she slid across the bench before he slid in after her. She then heard him order two Cokes from the waitress. And then, both of his arms were around her and he was holding her close. Again, Sansa told herself to stop crying. They were in public and now wasn’t a time for a complete breakdown.

Jon murmured something in her ear she couldn’t necessarily hear and he then kissed her temple. “Alright. Let’s do the fingers, okay?” He suggested, pulling his arms back, and Sansa managed a nod.

With his help, she began tapping each fingertip against her thumbs, counting to three each time.

“You are safe and you are loved,” Jon told her, over and over, as she tapped her fingers.

Sansa was able to concentrate on her fingers and his words and slowly – finally, slowly – she felt her heart beginning to slow down its rapid beats and her breathing was returning almost back to completely normal.

And when Jon asked, “All of this for George Harrison?”, Sansa actually let out a laugh.

The sound made Jon smile – just a little one – and he kissed her on the forehead.

Their waitress returned with two glasses of Coke and left two menus down, promising she would be right back. She didn’t ask them if everything was alright and Sansa was grateful for that. Now that the worst of the breakdown was passing, she was beginning to feel embarrassment creeping up her spine.

“I know we should be getting a basket of chips in honor of this booth, but this sounds really good,” Jon said, pointing to under the appetizers.

“Agreed,” Sansa nodded, wiping at her cheeks. “And do you want to split a lobster roll?”

Their waitress seemed to know that they had made a decision because she was back within seconds. She subtly set a stack of napkins down in front of Sansa as Jon ordered a lobster roll and the onion haystack. Alone again, Sansa took one of the napkins and blew her nose.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

Jon shook his head, turning more towards her. “You know that’s not what I want you to say. I want you to tell me what’s going on. What’s happened, Sansa?”

She didn’t answer him – not yet.

She picked up another napkin to wipe her cheeks dry and slowly, Jon ripped the paper away from his straw and dunked it into his Coke. He did the same for Sansa. His eyes went back to her, watching her, waiting.

Sansa took a deep breath. “I had a nightmare about Ramsay.” She finally got the words out after having been keeping them inside for the past few days. She lifted her eyes to look to her husband, but Jon only continued to look at her, waiting for her to say more because he knew there was more. “It scared me so much.”

“I’m sorry,” Jon was the one to say and he lifted a hand to the side of her head. “I’m sorry he’s still around.”

Sansa felt fresh tears build. “I don’t know why he is,” she whispered. Jon kissed her on the forehead. “And I hate having to talk about him with you.”

“Why?” Jon frowned at that.

“Because you… and Robb and my dad…” They all knew what happened to Ramsay, but they _never_ spoke about it. That family secret was drowned in the waters of Sea Dragon Point. “I hate that he’s still here. It’s been so good. Everything’s been so good for you and me, for our family, for _me_. And then he just pops up and I completely crumble.”

“Sansa, you’re allowed to crumble. Who said that you can’t?”

She shook her head at that. “It’s been so long-”

“Sansa,” Jon cut in and his voice was firm. “Who told you that?” She looked at him, her brow a bit furrowed at the question, trying to make sense of it. “It hasn’t been long. It will never be long. What that asshole did to you and what you survived-” Jon abruptly cut himself off. He took a deep breath and Sansa lifted a hand to his cheek, it now her turn to calm him down.

This was why she didn’t want to tell him. Jon _had_ moved on. He didn’t think about Ramsay anymore. Jon had been the one to actually kill the man. Jon had committed a murder and he woke up every morning, not thinking about it and now, he had gone through all of this trouble to take her out and now, she was making him think about it.

Jon exhaled a deep breath. “I wish I could make you forget it. I wish I could carry it for you.”

The waitress returned with a tray. She set down the plate with their onion haystack, another plate with their lobster roll, two more empty plates and rolls of utensils. “Can I get you anything else?” She asked, hugging the now-empty tray to her chest.

Sansa was the one to answer. “This looks great, thank you so much,” she smiled.

The waitress smiled, too, before turning and leaving them alone once more.

Sansa began dividing the haystack onto the two plates as well as she could though it was a bit of a mess and Jon took his knife, cutting the lobster roll into two equal halves.

“I took Martha with me the other night to an abuse survivor’s group,” Sansa then told him her next secret.

“So, that’s where you went,” he murmured to himself and then licked some mayonnaise off of his thumb. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to drag you into it,” she answered, almost wincing as she did. It wasn’t a good answer. She could hear that for herself. Yet, it was the only answer – and explanation – she had. And judging by Jon’s frown, he didn’t like the answer any more than she did. “I’m not going to be the reason you have a drink.”

Jon looked at her and didn’t say anything for a minute. He then lifted his hands to either side of her face, making sure that her eyes were locked with his. “The kids and you are the reason I’m never drinking again. But I was so worried and scared about what was happening to you and having no idea what it could be.”

Sansa closed her eyes and nodded. “I’m sorry.”

He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “You know that’s not what I want you to say.” He pulled back and Sansa’s eyes opened again. “You promised you would tell me if you couldn’t breathe,” he reminded her.

Sansa closed her eyes again and exhaled a great breath. “I couldn’t breathe on Wednesday from my nightmare,” she let him know. She looked at him again. “But at the meeting, I met a lot of nice people. One in particular. Shae. I think I’m going to go back next Wednesday.”

Jon leaned in and kissed her softly. “That sounds great.”

Finally, Sansa felt like they could begin to eat so they did. She moved a little against the bench. Was this where George sat? Or did he sit on the other side?

“How did you find this place?” She then wondered.

Jon smiled a little, in the middle of taking a bite of his lobster roll. “I knew the Beatles had been in Greywater during one of their tours and when I knew I was going to take you out, I started doing a little research. It was luck that this also is one of those little gems in Greywater that the locals love. And since we live here now…”

That made Sansa smile, too. “Yes, we’re locals now, too.”

“Do you like that?”

Sansa thought the question over as she ate some of the onion haystack and her own lobster roll. “I think so. I’m still getting used to the heat and the random snakes that slither in front of me when I’m walking across the parking lot to the grocery store or Target-” Jon grinned at that. “But, yes, I think I like it very much.” She took a sip of her Coke. “Do you like it? Do you like being a local in Greywater now?”

It was Jon’s turn to think it over as he ate his own food. “I do. My hair hates it, but I like it, too.”

Sansa laughed and the sound made Jon smile.

“Max has already asked me if he could cut all of his hair off,” Sansa said.

“And what did you say to that?”

“I told him that not everyone has beautiful black curls like him and I would miss them so much if they were gone,” she said and Jon snorted through his lobster roll.

“And what did he say to that?”

“He only agreed if he could grow his hair as long as yours so he could pull it back like you do. I didn’t want to tell him that we would keep his hair short; just not shorn. But he seemed excited at the idea of having hair _just_ like yours.”

Jon smiled at that, taking more of the onion stack, and Sansa wanted to laugh at how proud Jon seemed at their son’s words.

They ate for another moment, quiet, and Sansa finished her half of the lobster roll, wiping at her mouth with her napkin and then picking up her fork, stabbing at the leftover pieces of lobster on her plate. There wasn’t a restaurant in Wintertown with lobster rolls on the menu and was only ever the rare special and Sansa liked the idea that there was now a place in their home where she could order one.

“Have you found an AA meeting?” She had to ask him.

Jon was taking a sip of his Coke, but he nodded before swallowing. “It actually meets on Sunday afternoons of all times. It’s in the basement of a church and I was going to talk with you about it.”

“Aren’t you going to go?”

“I am, but I didn’t want to just spring it on you and leave you with the kids for a couple of hours.”

“Don’t be silly, Jon. I’m leaving you for a couple of hours every Wednesday.”

Jon smiled a little and leaned in, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Yeah, you are.”

Sansa laughed and pointed her fork to the rest of the onion haystack and Jon responded by pushing the plate closer to her. She helped herself to the rest of it as Jon leaned back, taking his cup of Coke with him.

“The nightmare…” he began. “I’m not asking you to tell me what it was about. Obviously, it was a bad one. But was it… why do you think you had it?”

Sansa finished chewing and then swallowed. “There’s been so many changes and I’ve been so busy, seeing to everyone else. I forgot to see to myself and I think the bastard knew that and he wiggled himself back in.”

Jon thought that over as he sipped his Coke. “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he then said, quietly; almost as if he was thinking his thoughts out loud, more to himself than to her.

Sansa heard him perfectly though and she leaned in to kiss his cheek. “I’m here.”

He looked at her, too. “Me, too.”

Sansa knew that no matter how many times they made such a promise like that to one another, they both would need to hear it just one more time.

…

“Well, that’s a good sign,” Jon commented as he pulled the truck back into their driveway.

“What?”

“The house is still standing.”

Sansa laughed at that. “That doesn’t mean that one of them isn’t horribly injured inside.”

“What a thing to say,” Jon gave her a grin.

They left the truck and Jon made sure it was locked as they headed for the stairs. All around them, the nightly orchestra of the Neck was playing – crickets, frogs and cicadas; all as loud as they could so they could be hear over everything else. Sansa swore that the first week after moving down here, none of them got any sleep, none of them used to such noise. Now, Sansa had to admit, she liked falling asleep to it all.

At the front door, from behind her, Jon leaned in and kissed the side of her neck.

“I love you,” he murmured against her skin.

“I love you, too,” she didn’t hesitate in returning the words.

After seeing the mess in George and Max’s room, the dead snake in Martha’s mouth and Julia hysterically crying in Brandon’s arms, it was easy for Jon and Sansa both to figure out what happened, but they would let the children keep their secret.

For now.

Downstairs, Sansa made them all cups of hot chocolate and Brandon returned to his homework and Eleanor and George pulled Jon into their game of LIFE. Max stayed in the kitchen with Sansa, sitting on the counter as he sipped his hot chocolate and Julia sat on the counter next to him, Sansa gently wiping her wet face with a damp washcloth.

“Are you alright?” Sansa asked her youngest daughter.

Julia didn’t say anything, but she sniffled and nodded.

“We’ll have a funeral tomorrow morning for the snake if you’d like,” Sansa then promised. “Would you like that? Your daddy will dig a hole and we’ll give him a proper sendoff.”

Julia sniffled and nodded again. “Mama?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“Did you know that snakes, depending on the species, can lay between six and 100 eggs at a time?”

Sansa did her best to not shudder. That seemed like a very unsettling number. “I did not know that,” she managed to hide her thoughts and give Julia a smile, Julia able to smile, too.

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for reading! I can keep going with this one and the Snows in the Neck, but let me know if you want me to. Thank you again!


	7. Chapter 7

…

With all of the children asleep, with the doors locked and all of the lights off, being under their bed’s comforter with Jon on top of her was Sansa’s favorite place to be.

He moved inside of her, slowly and deeply, and Sansa clung to him, moaning softly. His face was pressed to the side of her throat, his beard scratching her skin, his warm breath panting against her skin, and she could hear him breathing heavily in her ear as she moaned and gasped in his.

Jon’s hand began slipping down the side of her body and the thrust of his hips sped up. Sansa knew he was getting close because so was she. He gripped her thigh, hiking it higher against his hip, and Sansa gasped as it resulted in Jon sinking as deeply inside of her as he could go, filling her completely. She knew orgasms from just penetration were rare, but Jon had managed to give her quite a few over the years and tonight, it seemed like it would be another because he was hitting _that_ spot inside of her in _just_ the right way.

Sansa gasped sharply again, it trailing off into a moan, as Jon thrust particularly hard and her back arched from the bed; the explosion following just a second later. She began to tremble – her entire body shaking – and she clenched around him. Jon had been so close before, but now, feeling Sansa at her end, it only pushed him towards his. He slammed into her one last time and then held himself there as he began trembling as well, emptying himself entirely inside of her body.

Jon took a moment to collect himself and then lifted his head from her neck only to kiss her, hard and swift. Sansa’s fingers combed through his hair, pulling him down for another kiss – a slower kiss – as Jon slowly pulled himself from her. He laid down next to her, his chest still panting heavily, heaving up and down, and Sansa rolled onto her side towards him, smiling a little as she rested her hand on his chest.

“Are you still with me?” Sansa couldn’t help, but tease with a smile.

Jon grunted, which Sansa thought was some form of answer, and it just made her laugh, which made Jon smile. He opened his eyes and turned his head on the pillow to look at her. Even after all of this time, he still looked at her the same and Sansa knew it was probably corny, but she didn’t exactly care. In these moments together, when it was just them – after sex or not – and they were in their bed, or car, or anywhere and it was just the two of them, Jon would get this look; like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

That was how Jon looked at her right now.

“I know you said you didn’t mean it,” Jon began. “But is there any part of you that meant it when you said you were thinking about another baby?”

“No,” Sansa shook her head. “I mean… yes, I _did_ think about it, but then I explained why I had been thinking about and just because I’m worried about being bored and not knowing what to do with myself is not any kind of reason to have another child.” She moved a little closer to Jon. “Are _you_ thinking about it?”

Jon didn’t answer as quickly as she had. “I hadn’t until you brought it up,” he answered. “I don’t want another baby, but I’m thinking about it now.”

Sansa was quiet, now thinking about it, too.

It would be absolutely insane. It just would be. They had never even thought of having six children. Hell, Max had been a complete surprise. After Julia, they thought they would be at four, so she supposed another baby _was_ possible, but…

They had just moved. The kids were still getting settled and adjusted. So were she and Jon. And if they did have another baby, there wouldn’t be room. Four of the kids were already sharing rooms, Jon and Sansa obviously had their bedroom and Brandon had the attic. There was the office downstairs that could be used as a bedroom, yes, but that was the family office/fashion room. There just wasn’t enough room and the kids were all getting too old and though Sansa knew she could have another baby if she and Jon wanted one, the truth was, Sansa felt a little too old, too.

“If we ever had another daughter – not saying that we ever will, but if we ever did – I’ve always had Sadie on my list,” Sansa let Jon know.

“Sadie Snow,” Jon tested on his tongue like Sansa knew she would and she smiled. He smiled a little, too, and lifting his arm, he put it around her shoulders, pulling her body against his. “What if we ever had another son?” He asked her.

“You pick.”

She watched as Jon looked up towards the ceiling, obviously thinking and going through Beatles names. She smiled, wondering which one she picked. There were three other Beatles members they could name another son after – _if_ she and Jon ever had another son and right now, that was such a very big if, but Sansa admitted that it was something fun to think about; no matter how ridiculous it also might have been.

Jon suddenly snapped his fingers as one came to him. “Rocky.”

“Rocky?” Sansa’s smile began to stretch across her face. “You would name our son Rocky?”

“Hey.” Jon gave her a mock frown. “I agreed for one of our sons to be named after a song about a hammer-wielding murderer, so we would name our next son Rocky and that’s that.”

Sansa knew she shouldn’t. The kids were all asleep and it was late. She needed to be quiet. She and Jon had just made love and she had managed to stay quiet even then. But now, she wasn’t able to help herself.

She began laughing – a laugh that came straight from her belly – and she couldn’t get herself to stop. It had felt so long since she had had such a true laugh attack. And she loved it.

…

On the weekends, either on Saturday or Sunday, Jon bought donuts for breakfast. He absolutely loved Entenmann’s frosted chocolate donuts and one day on the weekend, he bought a fresh box and everyone ate their donut with glasses of milk – and Jon and Sansa, their coffee.

“There’s a _Hoarders_ marathon on!” George exclaimed as they flipped through television stations while they lounged around the family room and ate their donuts.

“Veto!” Both Brandon and Julia exclaimed at the same time.

Jon knew that Eleanor would have vetoed watched the show, too, but she was sitting at the kitchen table with her donut and milk, writing in her journal. When they had been shopping for school supplies, Eleanor had asked for the notebook that came with its own little lock and key. Sansa had had a diary when she had been Eleanor’s age and had been more than happy to buy one for her daughter.

She was rather devoted to writing in it all of the time now. Jon had to wonder what she was always writing, but he sure as Hell wasn’t going to break the lock and read his daughter’s journal.

“Dad,” George frowned, but Jon just smiled as he sat on the couch, eating his donut and reading that morning’s edition of _The Greyspear Bugle_ , which they had delivered every Sunday. It was an excellent way for Jon to learn of new construction coming to the Neck.

He only looked up to sip his coffee and from the corner of his eye, saw Max’s hand, putting something on the couch. Jon saw that Max had laid several of his plastic action figures from his toy castle set, that he was playing with on the floor in front of the couch, in a row on the cushion next to Jon. “What’s going on with them?”

“They’re all dead,” Max answered bluntly. “They couldn’t defeat the dragon.”

Jon smiled a little as Max took the next plastic knight to put him up against the large plastic green dragon that had come with the castle set. “Who’s up now?” He asked.

“Simon.”

“And what are Simon’s odds of defeating the dragon?”

Max was quiet for a moment, thinking that over. “5%,” he then decided and Jon cracked into a grin.

Sansa had taken her coffee and Entenmann’s donut out onto the back patio porch so she could call and talk with her mom. Martha trotted out with her.

“It’s too hot out for you already, girl,” Sansa smiled at her as she got herself settled in one of the patio chairs, setting her things down on the table.

Martha just wagged her tail, already panting, and plopped down at Sansa’s feet. There was a fan plugged into one of the outdoor outlets, the fan on the table, and Sansa situated it at the end of the table, adjusting it so it blew down more towards Martha’s face.

“I’ll be right back.” She kissed Martha’s nose. “And leave my donut alone.”

Martha remained sitting, enjoying the fan as it moved back and forth, and Sansa returned a minute later with a spray bottle of water. She got herself settled again and as she ate her donut, she would spray the water onto the fan every few minutes so it misted onto the dog’s face. Martha loved that very much.

Once finished with her donut, Sansa wiped her mouth and sipped at her coffee. Her mom had perfect timing because as soon as Sansa swallowed, her cell phone began to ring with a face-time call.

“Hi, mom,” Sansa was already smiling as Catelyn Stark appeared on her screen.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” Catelyn smiled and it looked like she was almost crying.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s just so wonderful to see you.”

Sansa would have rolled her eyes, but instead, she just smiled and shook her head. “We face-timed two days ago,” she felt the need to remind her mom.

“But I used to actually see your face in person every day,” Catelyn countered. “But,” she quickly added. “I will take you any way I can get you.”

Sansa smiled at that. She knew her mom and Jon’s mom had been anything, but happy about this move. Their fathers had been far more supportive even if they weren’t eager to let them go, but their moms, Jon had fully expected his to zip-tie all of them and toss them into her house, never letting them leave.

She would never ask, but Sansa had to wonder if Ned had talked to his wife or perhaps, Catelyn had grown to understand herself as to why Jon and Sansa had decided to make this move. Greywater was only two hours away from Wintertown and day-long and weekend trips would be very easy to plan at future dates, but right now, two hours was the perfect distance for Jon and Sansa to finally do something – completely on their own. Sansa liked to think that Catelyn had come to that realization and acceptance on her own.

Speaking of day-long trips…

“You’re still coming next Saturday?” Sansa asked though she couldn’t imagine a different answer.

“We most definitely are. And it begins at ten?”

Sansa nodded and she spritzed more water into the fan for Martha to get misted. “He’s going to be so happy to see you. He’s still not nervous, but you know he will be the morning of. And he has no idea nor do any of the other children. Jon and I feel like a surprise is the best.” 

“Rickon’s coming too,” Catelyn smiled.

Sansa gasped and burst into a smile. “Oh, is he really?”

“He went to the craft store to buy puffy paints,” Catelyn laughed. “Brandon will have _quite_ the poster.”

Sansa laughed, too.

At Rickon’s high school cross country meets, little Brandon had taken such care in making posters for his Uncle Rickon. He would tell Sansa what he wanted and she would spell it out and Brandon would take so much time, coloring and decorating it with stickers. They would then stand on the trail, waiting for Rickon to come and when he did, Brandon would shout at him and wave the poster – just in case Rickon had suddenly gone blind during the run and wasn’t able to see it.

All four grandparents coming for Brandon’s first cross country meet would mean so much to him, but to have his Uncle Rickon there, who was currently in training for the track competition for the Westeros Olympics? Brandon very well might forget about the whole meet entirely when he saw him there.

“If you truly want to be a police officer, you need to run two miles in fifteen minutes,” Grandpa Arthur had told Brandon a few years back when the boy had asked him about it. “There’s also an obstacle course you will need to successfully complete in 130 seconds. A lot of running in that, too. And wall climbing and throwing yourself through a window. An open window,” he then felt the need to clarify.

Brandon had soaked that up and nodded. He then looked to his Uncle Rickon. “Will you help me?” He might have only been ten-years-old, but he already knew exactly what he wanted to do when he grew older.

“Two miles in fifteen minutes?” Rickon asked. “We’re going to get you ready so you break every single Police Academy record.”

A part of Sansa wished that Brandon would want to follow in his Uncle’s steps in all ways and Brandon would want to train for the Westeros Olympics, too, but though she knew her son loved running, that just wasn’t the particular path he had put himself on. Thankfully, she had a few more years to adjust herself to it.

“He is going to be so happy to see all of you,” Sansa said to Catelyn. “ _All_ of the kids will lose their minds.”

Catelyn smiled at that. “And will you be happy to see us?” She asked though Sansa felt like it was one of those questions that didn’t have to be asked at all. Her mom probably – hopefully – felt that, too.

Just thinking about seeing their family this next week, it was Sansa’s turn to almost start crying.

“I can’t wait to show you our life down here,” she managed to swallow the tears back and say instead.

Catelyn smiled and Sansa knew her mom. If Sansa was right there with her, Catelyn would reach out and be hugging her right now. “I know that it’s probably one of the most wonderful lives in all of Westeros.”

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much!! This week has been so crazy busy for me and I feel like all of my writing time slipped away from me. In the next chapter, Jon is heading to an AA meeting and we'll also check and see how Eleanor is adjusting. THANK YOU so much again to those reading and still loving this world/family!


	8. Chapter 8

…

Jon didn’t know why he was so nervous, but he was. This obviously wasn’t his first AA meeting, but this was his first one in Greywater. He didn’t know anyone here and he didn’t know what to expect. He _wasn’t_ expecting to find a sponsor today. He had found Osha his first meeting back in Wintertown, yes, but he didn’t expect that to happen to him twice. Today, he was going to go and sit, listen, maybe talk and get a feeling for everyone else who went to these meetings.

“Should I shoot for six for dinner?” Sansa asked. The meeting was at three and it was never known how long it could go. People stayed until everyone who wanted to talk and share did.

They walked to the front door together, Jon admitting to himself that he was taking his dear sweet time.

“That should work,” Jon agreed with a nod. He opened the door but didn’t step through it. Instead, he fiddled with his keys and lingered.

He had to go. He _had_ to go. Not going to these meetings wasn’t an option.

It had been so busy over the past few months, moving from Wintertown to the Neck, Jon hadn’t really even had the time to _think_ about drinking. And the few times he had felt just a little too stressed, Osha was still just a phone call away and she had been able to talk and help him through it.

But he couldn’t rely on a fluctuating schedule in regards to his sobriety. He needed to start going to meetings again for himself and for his family.

If anything, his meetings liked to remind him that it kept working if you kept working it.

“Would you like me to come with you?” Sansa offered, sensing his hesitation.

Jon didn’t need to think that over. Sansa had only come with him to a meeting one time and that was when he received his 10-year sober chip so it was kind of a big deal for her to be there. The whole time though, he had been nervous as to what she was thinking of being in an recovery meeting such as AA. He knew Sansa wasn’t judging him – or anyone else in that room – but he couldn’t help but wonder what she thought.

“No, I can do this,” Jon said with a shake of his head.

Sansa reached a hand out and squeezed his arm. “I have no doubt,” she smiled.

That made Jon smile, too – finally – and he leaned in, giving her a kiss. “I’ll be back,” he then promised as if there was even the remotest possibility that he wouldn’t be.

“Good luck,” Sansa followed him out onto the front deck.

Jon gave her one more smile as he began heading down the stairs to the driveway. The air felt particular humid that day – so heavy, it was like standing in a steaming shower that had just been turned off. Some of the guys at the office had told him that when the air felt particularly heavy like this, it meant – nine times out of ten – that the swamp was coming. Jon just hoped it held off until he got home again this evening. 

He was going to be taking Sansa’s car – the family SUV – because he didn’t want to take his work truck with his last name plastered on the side. It was called anonymous for a reason.

Behind him, Jon heard the front storm door open again. “Bye, daddy!” Jon turned back and saw that Julia was now with Sansa, holding her hand and waving her other at Jon. Jon broke into a grin and Sansa was smiling, too, matching the broad one stretched across Julia’s face.

“See you later, sweetheart,” Jon said back to her and Julia gave him another wave, Sansa waving as well.

He got into the car and immediately turned the air conditioner on as soon as he had the engine going. This particular church where the meetings were held was just five minutes away, but Jon didn’t even consider just walking there. He felt like his body was already dripping from the few seconds it had taken to walk from the front door. Eleanor had thought that maybe they could go to Wintertown for fall break, which was next month, because Martha would probably love to feel the cold again and they were probably already having their first snow further North.

Jon certainly was all for that idea.

He took a few steadying breaths but it did nothing to ease the knots in his stomach. There had been so much nerves since they had all moved down here. Nervous about the first day of work; about the first day of school and now, nervous because he was going to his first AA meeting and had no idea what to expect. Wasn’t that the main reason people got so nervous when going into a new situation? Jon knew how meetings in Wintertown where like. He had no idea what they were like in Greywater.

In the church parking lot, he drove once around the building to figure out where he should go. There weren’t exactly signs to point him to the meeting. There was a main set of doors, which Jon figured when into the church, and then there was another door on the side. That door was propped open and there were a few cars parked in the spots in front of it. Jon figured that that was the door he wanted.

He parked the car and got out, locking the doors, before he lingered outside for another minute. The sun beat down on him and the air wetly wrapped itself around him, but still he lingered.

Maybe he should have asked Sansa to come with him; just so he wasn’t alone this first time.

Finally, with a deep breath, Jon followed the sidewalk to the door and opening it more, he slipped inside. He stopped so his eyes had a moment to adjust from the blinding sunlight to the yellow fluorescent lighting. It smelled like newly laid down carpet and slightly old wood. There were bathrooms to his left and several open doors leading into what looked like classrooms with the lights off. There was one room further down the hallway with the door open and light coming from inside so Jon figured that that was where he was heading.

Just as he passed, the men’s bathroom door opened and Jon froze.

“Finally,” Robb gave him a grin. “I’ve already had two cups of coffee and gone to the bathroom, waiting for you.” Jon kept staring at him. His mouth opened to say something, but what could he say? His mouth closed again and Robb’s grin widened. “I wasn’t going to miss your first meeting, Jon.”

Jon stared at his best friend. Words, still, were not coming to him. Robb had driven two hours from Wintertown just to come to an AA meeting with him? _Of course_ that was what Robb had done because that was exactly the kind of thing Robb had always done. Robb had come with him to his very first AA meeting and since then, he came to as many as he could. Jon said that Robb came just for the food, but he knew the truth; he just couldn’t say it. The truth was Robb was the best friend in the world and Jon didn’t know what he would do without him.

Looking at him now, Jon exhaled a shaky breath, feeling surprised and overwhelmed, and Robb just gave him a smile, clapping a hand on his shoulder. That was another thing Jon was so grateful in regards to Robb. Sometimes, neither of them had to say anything.

“Does Sansa know you’re here?” Jon was finally able to say something. But of course Sansa would know. He wasn’t surprised. His wife calling her brother and his best friend to come and help Jon through this was exactly the kind of thing Sansa would do for him.

“I needed the address,” Robb shrugged.

Jon looked down to the floor – needing to look away for just a moment – before he exhaled another breath and looked to him again. “Did you go to the room?” He asked.

“Coffee and donuts. Not the spread we’re used to, but it’ll do,” Robb answered.

“Only you would drive two hours to see if my new AA meeting was a potluck,” Jon smiled a little, too.

They began walking down the hallway, heading towards the classroom where the light was.

“Obviously, Jon,” Robb just kept on smiling.

…

Despite their best efforts, Uncle Robb wasn’t able to stay the night. After dad’s meeting, he came back to the house so he could eat dinner with them and then he had to get back.

“No!” Eleanor and all of her siblings shouted in protest, but Robb just laughed. None of them would tell mom or dad because they _did_ like Greywater – mostly – they did miss Wintertown and all of their family still there.

“Your Uncle has some important things he has to get back to,” Mom explained to them. “But he’ll visit us again and stay longer next time. Won’t you, Robb?”

“You bet I will,” Robb grinned at them all. “Especially if your mom promises me to make more of her shake-and-bake porkchops.”

The next morning, mom woke them all up as she did every school morning. She started with Brandon because even though he had an alarm clock, he sometimes still managed to sleep right through it and it would take him longer to get him up than the others. Sometimes, dad would have to go upstairs and wake Brandon up a second time after mom already had.

“Puberty,” mom explained and she said they were all going to go through it. “You kids will just want to sleep and eat and sleep some more.”

“Sounds good to me!” George had grinned when she said that.

Mom would then wake Eleanor and Julia up next and then George and Max. Mornings in their house could always be a little crazy, getting dressed, brushing teeth, combing hair, mom helping them all with one thing or another.

“Brandon! Get up!” Dad yelled up the attic stairs and then began heading up.

“I want to watch!” Max exclaimed through a mouthful of toothpaste, ready to bolt from the bathroom and follow dad up to Brandon’s room.

“Maxwell Hoster Snow, you stay right where you are!” Sansa’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

They all looked to the ceiling when they heard Jon tell Brandon that it was time to get up. And then they heard a _thud_ on the hardwood floor followed by a “Dad!”. Eleanor, George, Max and Julia all smiled and laughed through their foamy toothpaste mouths.

“If you get up when your mom and me tell you to, I wouldn’t have to flip your mattress,” Jon said.

Mom made sure they were all dressed – “Julia, do you mean to wear two different colored socks or was that a mistake?” – and their hair was all combed neatly – “Not long enough yet, Max,” when he tried to pull it back with one of Eleanor’s hairbands – and then downstairs in the kitchen, she let them choose their cereal.

Eleanor sat at the table, eating her Cheerios while making sure her assignments were in their proper folders. They had a quiz that day in their Westeros geography class and she would ask George if he studied, but she certainly wouldn’t ask that in front of their parents. She might have to help him cram on the school bus that morning though the ride took less than five minutes with how close they lived to the school.

But Eleanor didn’t know if five minutes would be enough and she didn’t want George to get in trouble here as much as he did in Wintertown. All of his teachers said he was always too antsy – mom and dad always asked to show them a boy who _wasn’t_ antsy at his age – but still, Eleanor wanted things to be good for all of them here. She knew how much this move meant to mom and dad even though they hadn’t said that. And here, unlike in Wintertown, she and George were in the same classes so she could help – if he wanted.

She would have asked him yesterday if he wanted to study, but it had been Sunday and he had been playing soccer with Max and Molly in the backyard. Eleanor hadn’t wanted to ruin the fun.

She sometimes worried that she did that too much. She liked to study, read and learn. She actually loved school. Sometimes, it felt like she was the only kid their age who did. George always told her that she was the favorite twin and yes, when it came to the adults, Eleanor’s showing of manners did seem to win all of them over, but when it came to kids their age, they all seemed to prefer George. He was the fun twin.

(If George could buckle down a bit here, maybe Eleanor could be a bit more fun. She hoped so anyway. She wanted to be so much fun and have all of the other kids think she was.)

“George?” She looked to him sitting across from her. “Can you help me review?”

George lifted his eyes from his own bowl of Cheerios and when he saw the notecards, his eyes widened. She just kept holding them out to him and George quickly recovered.

“Definitely,” he readily agreed and took them from her. He read through the first question to himself and then turned it over to see the answer she had written on the back. “Alright. What are the four known continents in the world?” He asked.

“I know!” Max exclaimed.

“No, you don’t,” Julia frowned at him.

“Westeros, Ulthos, Sothoryos and Essos,” Eleanor recited perfectly and Jon, sitting next to her, gave a proud smile and kiss on the side of her head. Eleanor smiled back at him. “Remember, George? WUSE.”

“WUSE,” George repeated with a nod. He went to the next card and again, read the question and looked to the answer. “What are the lands beyond the Wall and why don’t we know much about them?”

“Land in the far north are the frozen Lands of Always Winter and most of the land is uncharted because it’s so cold,” Eleanor answered.

“How did you get so smart?” Mom asked as she stood at the counter, smiling – proud like dad – and fixing lunches for George, Eleanor and Julia because according to the school cafeteria menu hanging on their refrigerator, it was fish patty day and _none_ of them liked fish patty day.

“I like geography,” Eleanor just shrugged.

“No one likes geography, El,” George said and he said it with his playful smile, but Eleanor found herself frowning a little at his words; no matter how she knew he was just teasing her.

George was right. No kid their age was supposed to like something as lame as geography.

“You keep studying. I decided to wear different shoes today,” Eleanor said and taking her empty cereal bowl and empty milk glass, she carried both over to the counter, setting them down next to the dishwasher. “I’ll come right back and wash those out,” she promised.

Mom looked at her with a soft smile and Eleanor didn’t know why, but it made her feel an ache in her chest. Sometimes, her mom would give her that soft smile and it made her think that mom knew exactly what she was thinking or feeling in that very moment; even if Eleanor, herself, wasn’t too sure.

Now, mom put a hand on the back of Eleanor’s head and kissed her on the top of it. “I like geography, too.”

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU!! Good times at the cross country meet in the next chapter (as well as another Sansa/ghost Ramsay moment). Thank you again for reading this!


	9. Chapter 9

…

When Brandon turned fourteen and entered high school, Jon and Sansa had gifted him with a cell phone. Nothing fancy. Just Jon’s old I-phone that was more than a little beat up, but Brandon hadn’t cared about it – nor had he cared about it being a few models older than the current, flashier ones. He had been so excited to have a cell phone and had hugged both of his parents and began looking over every inch of it.

However, he didn’t use it that often. He called when cross country practice was going over a bit longer than scheduled or when he called to ask if he could go out for pizza with a couple guys from the team. He didn’t really have a lot of people he _needed_ to talk to. He saw his friends every day at school and he quickly discovered that he hated texting. He would only group text when it was with Little Sam, Alaric and Victoria back in Wintertown, all excited about seeing each other when Brandon came back for fall break. But other than that, the I-phone stayed in his book bag, Brandon knowing it was there if he _did_ need it.

The other four Snow children always had a quarter on them. Jon made sure of it. Greywater still had payphones everywhere. The town, in fact, prided themselves on it. Not everyone was able to have or afford a cell phone and Greywater liked to make sure that communication was a right for everyone.

So, if anything ever happened – for whatever reason – Jon made sure the kids had a quarter because somewhere nearby, there would be a payphone.

“You don’t have to do this,” George said as he followed Eleanor to the payphone outside of the school.

“I know I don’t have to do this. I _want_ to do this,” Eleanor informed her brother as she fed the phone her quarter and dialed the number for home. Mom picked up after three rings and she could hear Max running around in the background. “Hi, mom.”

“Hi, sweetheart. Is everything alright?”

“George and I were wondering if we could go to the convenience store with a couple of kids from our class. We’ll make sure Julia gets on the bus and we’ll walk home afterwards,” Eleanor said.

“Friends?” Mom asked, trying to keep the question innocent and Eleanor did her best to keep her cheeks from flushing because her mom was trying so hard to not make a big deal out of it. Both she and dad knew though that Eleanor wasn’t having the easiest time yet making friends in Greywater.

“I’m not sure,” Eleanor answered honestly. “I hope so.”

Mom smiled from over the phone. “Of course you and George can go. Just don’t spoil your appetites.”

George pushed his head against Eleanor’s, pressing his ear against the other side of the phone receiver. “What’s for dinner, mom?” He asked.

“Your dad is buying some cod fillets and we’re having those with green beans and wild rice.”

George was quiet, thinking that over. “That sounds pretty good,” he nodded with approval and they both heard mom smile again; almost laugh.

In the throng of students, streaming from the school to go to their busses, Julia found her brother and sister and she came to them, her hand slipping into George’s.

“I’m going to put Julia on the bus right now, mom,” he said into the phone and then went to do just that, leaving Eleanor alone with mom on the phone.

“Who are you going with?” Mom asked.

“Jenny Crane and Simon Rooney. They like to go to the store every Friday after school for Pop Rocks. They asked George and me if we wanted to come with them.”

“That sounds fun,” mom smiled again.

“They really asked George,” Eleanor than felt the need to say. “Everyone in our class thinks George is so cool and funny.”

“You’re cool and funny, too, Eleanor,” mom said without even pausing.

“Not like George.”

“No, you’re Eleanor, but that doesn’t mean you’re not funny and cool, too.”

“I guess,” Eleanor looked down to the ground.

The truth was, she didn’t even know if she wanted Jenny Crane and Simon Rooney to be her friends. They actually seemed kind of snooty and she knew the only reason George wanted to go to the store with them was so he could get some Pop Rocks. He didn’t seem crazy about them either, but he was going and Eleanor wanted to go, too, because this would at least be a chance to spend time with others from their classes.

“Eleanor?” Mom said in that gentle voice of hers and Eleanor lifted her eyes as if mom was standing right there and Eleanor needed to pay attention. “You are amazing and I never want you to forget that.”

Eleanor felt a tightness in her chest. She wished it came easy to her – making friends. But she wasn’t like George. She was more serious; more polite. A “goody two-shoes”, according to some. She liked school and learning. She had been called a nerd by more than one person. She had her close friends in Wintertown who were just like her, but here, in Greywater, there didn’t seem to be anyone like her.

“I won’t forget,” Eleanor whispered.

…

It was stupid and dangerous and she hated lying to her mom, but it was too late to turn back now.

Together with George, Eleanor stood with Jenny and Simon in front of the abandoned, derelict home at the end of the street. The sun was beating down heavily as it seemed to always be doing in Greywater, but looking at the house, Eleanor felt something sweep across the back of her neck that made her take the slightest step back, holding the straps of her backpack.

“Bullshit,” George frowned and Eleanor didn’t even frown at him for his swear word.

“It’s true,” Jenny said. “ _Everyone_ in town knows the story.”

“And they believe it?” George scoffed. He took Eleanor’s shirt sleeve. “Let’s get home. We’ve been gone too long already.”

Simon looked at Eleanor as she kept looking up at the house. “It really did happen. The swamp rose the highest it ever had that summer and the lizard-lions came with it. The boy who lived here, Petyr Peak, wasn’t a great swimmer and when he got caught up in the rising waters, the lizard-lions tore him apart. He’s still in there, pieces of him anyway, and he’s not able to leave, waiting for the swamp waters to rise high enough again so maybe, this time he can swim out before the lizard-lions get him again.”

Eleanor swallowed. She knew all about lizard-lions. Like Julia’s love for snakes, Eleanor loved the alligators of the Neck. The lizard-lions were kind of like alligators, but the size of lions. They only lived in the Neck – in the bogs and swamps – and nowhere else in Westeros and Eleanor hadn’t seen one yet. They were carnivores – monstrous carnivores – and they ripping apart a boy wasn’t too far-fetched, but that boy was now a ghost, haunting this house?

She didn’t truly believe that, did she?

“After they killed Petyr Peak and his family moved away, too sad to stay, some of the lizard-lions have claimed this house as their own. Apparently, there’s a bunch of them and their nests inside,” Jenny added and Eleanor finally moved her eyes to look at her.

“Really?” She asked.

Jenny smiled and nodded. “Want to see a lizard-lion?”

“No, she doesn’t,” George frowned, answering before Eleanor could.

“I do, George,” Eleanor frowned at her brother. “I really want to see one.”

“We’ll have dad take us to the zoo then. We’re not going in there,” George grabbed her arm this time.

Eleanor shook him off. “You don’t have to come in with me,” she let him know and she looked back up to the house. She was still feeling coolness despite the sweat on the small of her back.

It was about the curiosity of maybe seeing an actual lizard-lion, but also, it was about Simon and Jenny seeing Eleanor walk into this house. She could be like George, too. She could be cool and have people _want_ to be friends with her, too.

“El,” George began to say, but Eleanor ignored him and took the steps forward to the front flight of stairs.

…

The wild rice had just finished and Brandon was setting the table when the telephone rang. Sansa practically dove across the room to answer it. George and Eleanor should have been home by now, but they weren’t. She had sent Jon down to the convenience store to look for them, but they hadn’t been there. Jon had then driven around the neighborhood, but hadn’t seen them anywhere.

Sansa wanted to call the police immediately, but Brandon said that they had to wait for a couple more hours before a police officer would take their report because of protocol. Sansa had had some choice words about that under her breath and she had felt sick to her stomach as time ticked by, constantly looking between her phone and the front door. They had tried to distract themselves with preparing dinner since the other kids had to eat, but Jon had gone out to drive around again, looking for them, before he returned home with a slight shake of his head to Sansa.

“Hello?” She gasped and Jon was right there at her side.

“Is this George and Eleanor’s mom?” An older man’s voice spoke to her.

“Yes, yes. Where are they?” Sansa pulled her phone from her ear and hit the speaker button so Jon could hear this as well. Max had pushed himself to stand between his parents to listen, too.

“Well, they’re with me. I’m Virgil Goodwin and I live over on Haddock Road. Your children are here and your daughter, Eleanor, has hurt herself.”

“What happened?” Jon demanded.

A moment passed and they could hear the phone being handed off.

“Hi, dad,” George said.

“George, what in the Hell is going on?” Jon didn’t mean to growl, but he couldn’t exactly help himself. He was going to be plucking more grey hairs out of his head tonight after what these kids have decided to put him and Sansa through. “What happened to Eleanor?”

“It was stupid, but there’s a haunted house across the street from Mr. Goodwin’s house and these kids from school, Jenny and Simon, wanted to show it to us. Well, Eleanor decided that she was going to go in and I wasn’t going to let her go in alone. The floor is really weak from all of the water and mold and in the hallway, Eleanor’s leg fell through the floor-”

Sansa’s sharp gasp cut him off. “Is she okay? How hurt is she?”

More rustling and then Virgil was back on the phone. “I’m actually a retired EMT. I cleaned it for her and wrapped it. It’s a nasty cut on her shin, but she doesn’t need stitches. I would suggest getting her a tetanus shot. It seemed like the other two ran off and George helped Eleanor get across the street to my house.”

“But she’s okay?” Sansa’s throat had completely closed now and she was struggling with her breathing.

“She is,” Virgil promised. “It could have been a lot worse.”

Jon was already grabbing his car keys and getting the address from Virgil. Sansa wasn’t hearing any of it though. She might not have been breathing, but her heart was certainly beating; pounding in her ears.

She vaguely heard Jon tell Brandon to get Julia and Max’s dinners together – and for Julia and Max to eat dinner without giving Brandon any trouble – and then Jon had taken Sansa’s hand, pulling her from the house. She hadn’t even realized Martha had come with them until Jon opened Sansa’s door and the dog had jumped in first, hopping into the back.

Jon put Virgil’s address into his phone and then handed it to Sansa.

“So, after we make sure that Eleanor’s leg doesn’t need to be amputated, we’re going to kill them,” Jon stated as he packed out of the driveway and Sansa nodded without argument.

“Why did we have children?” Sansa blurted out.

Jon smiled a little. “Don’t you remember? We thought it would be fun.”

“We’re not having a sixth.”

“Absolutely not.” The phone told Jon where to go and he followed the directions. Haddock Road was on the other side of the primary school. “What the Hell were they doing?” Jon asked then as if Sansa would know.

Well, she _did_ have an idea.

“Eleanor’s trying to make friends and I assume she was trying to impress these kids that don’t deserve her.” She exhaled a deep breath. “When you told me about the Baratheon Brothers wanting to move us to the Neck, I was immediately worried about Brandon and how he was going to handle it and I was so focused on so many things… I didn’t focus enough on Eleanor. She’s not having an easy time.”

Jon stopped at a red light at an intersection. “It’s not your fault, Sansa. It’s something I should have noticed, too.” He turned in his seat towards her and took one of her hands. “It’s not all on your shoulders. It never should have to be and it never will be. We share the load.”

“But when we were planning this move, I decided to not work so I could focus on the kids and the house while you’re working and I’m just… I’m not doing a good job at anything anymore.”

“Hey.” From the corner of his eye, Jon saw the light turn green, but there weren’t any cars to honk him along so he stayed. He turned more towards his wife. “You’re an amazing mom and woman and I never want to hear you say anything different than that. Got it?”

Sansa looked at him for a moment and a smile nearly began to form on her face. “Got it,” she agreed with a single nod of her head. Jon picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Although, our daughter snuck into an apparent haunted house and almost fell through a rotted floor so what does that say about us?”

“It says that we have animals for children and we can only pay attention to so many at the same time.”

Sansa’s smile grew and she exhaled a sigh as Jon finally drove forward, continuing to Virgil Goodwin’s house. She knew she shouldn’t be so hard on herself. Her siblings were always injuring themselves in one way or another, always keeping their parents on their toes. Sansa shouldn’t be surprised her children did the same.

It was just… Eleanor had always been the responsible one and the fact that she had done something so stupid just to impress some kids to try to make friends, Sansa knew that that’s what was bothering her more than anything about this whole thing. Her daughter had done something stupid and had hurt herself just so she could be what she thought these kids wanted.

And she knew Jon was right. Kids were kids and they were oftentimes stupid and walking disasters and that didn’t reflect on the parents at all times. But… years ago, Sansa hadn’t had the highest self-esteem and she had fallen under the false charms of Ramsay. What was Eleanor going to fall under?

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, obviously a slight change. Cross country meet and surprising grandparents in the NEXT chapter. Thank you very much for reading this one!


	10. Chapter 10

…

There was a trick Uncle Rickon taught him when Brandon first began his training. Sing.

When Uncle Rickon ran, he played a rap song in his mind. The same song over and over again. The beats made his feet sure and steady. His mom would occasionally go for runs and, of course, she played Beatles songs in her head. Playing music in his head did help Brandon concentrate, but if anyone asked him, he would _never_ admit to which song he ran to.

_Hidden deep inside the jungle,_

_There’s hippos! There’s hippos!_

_Chloe, Zoe, Mick and Vic!_

_They’re hippos! They’re hippos!_

Brandon ran the course, singing the theme song to _Hubba Bubba Hotel_ in his head as he went. He didn’t know how he was doing. He knew there were a few guys in front of him; he wasn’t sure how many. He knew he wasn’t the absolutely last runner so that was really all he cared about. He didn’t want his very first high school cross country meet to end with him coming in absolute last.

He wore the colors of Greywater High School – grey running shorts and his green tank – and sang in his head and tried not to think of how absolutely coated in sweat he was. He had trained all summer to get himself used to running long distances in the Neck’s humidity, but he had to wonder if a person could _ever_ get used to this kind of humidity? Having a cross country team in Greywater seemed almost cruel, in a way, but as Coach Benedict liked to tell the whole team, you push yourself to work hard in this kind of weather, you find out what you’re really capable of.

There was a bridge through one of the marshes on the course and Brandon followed the arrows and the others guys running around him – he definitely did _not_ want to get off course in a marsh – and when he ran off the bridge, the trees began to thin out and open up and he could hear spectators ahead, cheering and clapping for those who ran past them. He could hear his siblings.

His parents had asked where a good spot would be to stake claim so they would be able to see them. When he was younger and they would go see Uncle Rickon at his high school cross country meets, mom always liked to stand at curves in the course and Rickon never missed them. It was hard to miss someone when you were running right towards them, about to turn. The course must be making a turn up ahead.

_Hidden deep inside the jungle,_

_There’s hippos! There’s hippos!_

“Brandon!!”

Sure enough, he saw his brothers and sisters first, all cheering for him as loud as they possibly could. He began to smile. He knew cross country meets would be boring to them. A lot of standing around in this humidity, waiting for him to run past, and then more waited as he finished. But they were screaming as if money was falling from the sky.

His mom and dad were obviously with them, both clapping and smiles so big and bright across their faces when they saw him coming. But that wasn’t why Brandon almost tripped. His feet began to slow and he stared, wondering if he was actually seeing it or if the humidity had gotten to him and he was now hallucinating things that weren’t really there.

Why were his grandparents here? Grandpa Ned, Grandma Catelyn, Grandpa Arthur and Grandma Lyanna, they were all here, standing with his siblings and parents, cheering and clapping for him. And…

Uncle Rickon. Why was Uncle Rickon here? He was in training for the Westeros Olympics. Why was he here, at a high school cross country meet?

Why were _any_ of them here?

“Go, Brandon!” Rickon shouted at the top of his lungs and he was holding a piece of poster board in his hands, waving it just in case Brandon had gone temporarily blind and wasn’t able to see it.

_LIKE A BULLET, BRANDON!!_

It was silver glitter and when the sun caught it, it shone right into Brandon’s eyes. There was also an attempted drawing at a lizard-lion, Greywater High’s mascot, next to the exclamation points. 

He felt himself begin to slow down as his brain finally understood what was going on. His family was here, to see him, in his first cross country meet. They had come to see him run. It wasn’t like he was a star quarterback or this was some huge sporting finals event. It was the first high school cross country meet of the year; a nothing event to anyone else who wasn’t running today. But his family was here to see him as if it was the _most_ important thing to happen to any of them.

“Brandon!” His mom then shouted, catching his attention. “Don’t stop!”

She had seen his steps slowing down, his reaction falling into one of shock, and she snapped him out of it.

Looking at his family, a grin split across his face, and then Brandon began running at his usual speed again, quickly gaining back the ground he had lost. He knew he had another mile to go and in this weather, he had to pace himself, but Brandon didn’t pay heed to that. His family was here. His family had come to see him and now, he wanted to get back to them as quickly as he possibly could.

By the time he reached the end of the course and saw Coach Benedict and a couple of the upperclassmen who had already finished standing nearby, his lungs were burning, a stitch in his side was screaming and his legs felt rubber. Somehow, it felt as if the humidity had gotten even thicker.

Just as he reached his coach, Brandon couldn’t hold himself up and he fell to his knees, throwing up in the grass. Coach Benedict crouched down next to him and hit Brandon a few times on the back.

“There, there, Snow. Let it out. Better out than in, I say. You did a damn good job. You deserve a nice vomit.”

Brandon coughed once he thought he was done and spit for good measure.

“Thank God your mom didn’t see you do that. I’m not sure how, but she’d manage to twist it around and make it my fault.”

Brandon lifted his head and looked up to his Uncle Rickon, who was looking down at him with a grin. He wasn’t a mirage. Without a word, Brandon pushed himself to his feet and threw his arms around his uncle, Rickon still grinning and hugging him tight despite the sweat of Brandon’s body.

From behind him, he could hear the two upperclassmen whisper. They recognized Rickon. Brandon could tell. It wasn’t like Rickon Stark was some massive celebrity. Only those who followed Track & Field for the Westeros Olympics – or the Olympics in general – would recognize him. His first appearance was four years earlier. Rickon had run both cross country and track in high school and college, but track proved to be where his true talent and speed laid. He had won a silver medal for the 200 meter sprint. He was going back this year to win that gold. If he won the gold medal, then the doors would really open for him.

“Cereal boxes,” Rickon grinned whenever he and his family talked about. “I mean, gold medals are nice, but cereal boxes? That’s the dream.”

Brandon took a step back. “What are you doing here?”

Rickon shrugged. “Where else would I be? I’m not missing my nephew’s first cross country meet. Did you like my poster? That took me a week to make and I got high off of that glitter paint.”

That got a grin out of Brandon and then he exhaled a deep breath. He hadn’t been expecting this; not in a million years. He looked to his Coach, who was looking at Rickon and doing his best to hide his surprise at seeing a running star right in front of him.

“Coach, this is my uncle, Rickon Stark. This is my coach, Coach Benedict,” Brandon said.

Rickon shook the older man’s hand, the grin ever-present on his face. “It’s great to meet you.”

“You, too, Mr. Stark,” Coach Benedict said, looking at him for a moment as if he wasn’t going to look away. But then he did and he looked to Brandon. “No wonder you didn’t want to tell me who your uncle was when you tried out for the team.”

Brandon shrugged, feeling a little bashful.

He knew he could easily get ahead using his Uncle name’s and his Grandpa Ned was Warden of the North and that could open _every_ single door for him, but Brandon didn’t want to do that. His dad had taught him that he could do anything with hard work and Brandon was going to do it that way. He would feel pride in himself he wouldn’t feel if he fell back on who his family was.

“Brandon!”

Both Brandon and Rickon turned their heads to see the rest of their family coming to them and within seconds, Brandon was surrounded and he didn’t mean to. He didn’t _want_ to in front of his Coach and the other guys finishing the course, but seeing his grandparents all there, he felt his eyes start to sting.

He assured himself that it was just sweat that had rolled into his eyes and he was not going to start crying.

He hadn’t told his parents. He knew how much this move meant to them and how badly they wanted it to work. And for the most part, Brandon didn’t hate Greywater; not as much as he thought he would. But while not hating his new home, he had also really been missing Wintertown and all of his family still there.

But all of his grandparents were here now and he might not have told them, but maybe his parents had known anyway. It wouldn’t surprise him if they did.

…

“Do you have her?” Adelaide, Molly’s nurse, asked – not for the first time.

“Yep,” George said confidently as he – slowly – went up the front stairs of the Snow house with Molly on his back, her arms around his neck as tight as she could manage; which wasn’t tight at all, but George was _not_ going to let her fall off. “You good?” He then asked Molly.

Molly gave the slightest nod of her head.

The Wheaton house had a fancy elevator for Molly and her wheelchair, which the Snow house obviously did not have, but the Wheaton’s were invited to the Snows for the barbecue they were having that afternoon after Brandon’s cross-country meet and George wasn’t going to let Molly miss it just because she couldn’t get into the house.

It wasn’t like Molly was heavy. The issue was she was dead weight. She wasn’t able to help him and distribute her weight evenly like other people could when getting piggyback rides.

“Made it,” George sighed when he reached the front porch and Adelaide had opened Molly’s wheelchair. They hadn’t brought her fancy motorized one – that was far too heavy – and had brought her simple one.

“Here we are,” Grandpa Ned had been following George up the stairs and now, lifted Molly from his back and helped Adelaide as the nurse got her situated in the wheelchair.

“Whew!” George grinned, rubbing an arm across his sweat-dotted forehead. “We did it.” Molly smiled, too. George then looked up to his Grandpa Ned with a grin. “Thanks for spotting, Grandpa.”

“You bet,” Ned smiled down at him with a hand on his head.

Sansa called just about every day so both Ned and Catelyn were well aware of things in the Snow family life and they knew about the girl who lived next door with cerebral palsy who George had befriended. Like his parents, Ned had been a bit surprised, he admitted. George had always been the wildest of his grandchildren. There was nothing wrong with that either, in his opinion. He was just a kid with a lot of energy. A lot of kids had a lot of energy. For George to befriend such a girl and show the patience and understanding that came with it, it just wasn’t something that seemed to fit with the George they all knew and loved.

But, in Ned’s opinion, it was one of the most amazing things he had ever seen.

Despite the humidity, the party was inside as well as out on the back patio and the backyard. As much as Ned didn’t care to admit it, Arthur _was_ good at barbecue and they had bought slabs of ribs from Costco, which he was now smoking out back. In addition to the families, Jon and Sansa also invited their next door neighbors, Mary and Molly Wheaton and Virgil Goodwin, the kind older man who had aided Eleanor just yesterday.

(He was right and after taking her to the ER, Jon and Sansa learned that Eleanor didn’t need stitches, but it was quite a long gash. After having it cleaned again and wrapped – and after a tetanus shot – Eleanor was going to be on crutches for the next week or two just to help her from limping so badly.)

“Grandpa!” Julia exclaimed as soon as Ned followed George, Molly and Adelaide into the house. She ran to him and took his hand. “Do you want to find snakes with me in the backyard?”

Ned grinned. “I would love to. Your mama told me no one knows more about snakes than you do.”

Julia beamed proudly at that and still holding his hand, she led Ned out the back door.

Brandon was upstairs, taking a long shower. In the family room, Rickon was playing on the floor with Max and his castle set and Eleanor sat on the couch, her leg propped up, with Jon next to her and Lyanna sitting in the armchair across from him, mother and son talking about all of the things happening in Greywater and Wintertown. In the kitchen, Sansa and Catelyn were, putting bowls of pasta salad and macaroni salad together and peeling potatoes for Catelyn’s homemade fries.

Sansa felt as if she had been smiling since that morning when everyone arrived at Greywater High School to surprise Brandon and she hadn’t stopped.

Moving away to get a bit of freedom from their parents had been one of hers and Jon’s main reasons for deciding to make this move to Greywater, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t miss having their families always so close to them.

George’s hand suddenly appeared over the kitchen island and Sansa gently smacked it away.

“Mom,” he instantly whined.

“You can wait,” Sansa let him know, but then, she took one of the cherry tomatoes from the container next to her and cut one in half. She handed both to George. “For Molly, too.”

George grinned. “Thanks, mom.” He popped his half into his mouth and then turned, holding out the other half for Molly to have. Part of her physical therapy, he knew, was practicing her grip and bringing things to her mouth.

“I love this kitchen,” Catelyn said as she finished peeling potatoes and took a knife from the knife block.

“Really?” Sansa couldn’t help, but ask; wanting to make sure that her mom actually meant that and wasn’t just saying empty words about the house.

It had taken some getting used to – having a house on stilts and living elevated – but now, Sansa absolutely loved it. Sometime over the summer, this home truly began to feel just like that. But moving away didn’t mean that Sansa didn’t very much want her mother’s approval. Sansa knew she would always want it no matter how old she was or how far away she moved.

“You have so much more counter space than in your old kitchen,” Catelyn nodded.

“And that will come in handy, too,” Sansa said. “I think I’m going to volunteer to be Max’s room mother. I’ll be in charge of snacks every Friday and there are all sorts of special days, too, rather than just the holidays. Swamp Celebration Day and Dr. Seuss’s Birthday. Snacks are needed then, too.”

Catelyn laughed. “I was room mom for Robb and then none of you.”

Sansa laughed, too. It was silly and she knew some days, she would hate it, but she was excited for something that didn’t seem that big of a deal at all. She had decided that both she and Eleanor had to get more involved and while she had ideas of how to help Eleanor with that, Sansa thought being a room mom for the kindergarten class would introduce her to more of the parents.

Jon entered the kitchen then to get himself a coke and his mom more water and at the counter, he leaned in and kissed Sansa at the corner of her jaw; that magic spot that always made her shiver.

“Good?” He asked her.

Sansa looked at him and smiled. “Great,” she answered truthfully and with a smile, Jon kissed her.

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Instead of in this chapter, Ghost!Ramsay in the next one. 
> 
> And this will probably sound weird, but lately, I feel like I haven't been smiling enough. This universe always makes me feel a little bit better so I wanted to/needed to work on it. Thank you very much to those still reading!


	11. Chapter 11

…

In Wintertown, Sansa had always made “girl time” with her daughters. Even if it was just a Target run, Sansa planned something where it was just herself, Eleanor and Julia. She loved it and she knew the girls did, too, so in Greywater, she was going to keep planning on doing the same thing.

They ate an early dinner on Sunday and then leaving the boys and Jon on their own, Sansa, Eleanor and Julia climbed into the car and Sansa drove them to Greywater Mall. The family had been there a couple of times, but now, it was girl time and Eleanor and Julia were both smiling, excited, from the back seat as Sansa drove through the parking lot, finding just the right space.

“Where are we going to go, mama?” Julia asked.

She held Sansa’s hand and Eleanor walked in front of them both as they crossed the lot, heading towards the main entrance doors. She was no longer on her crutches, but she still had the bandage around her shin. She had developed a lovely scab and Sansa and Jon didn’t want her to pick at it and leave a scar.

“Wherever you girls want to go,” Sansa smiled. “Let’s look at the directory,” she then said once they were inside the mall and she saw the lit-up map in front of them. Julia dropped her hand and both girls ran to it, Sansa coming up behind them.

“Build-a-Bear, mom!” Eleanor exclaimed, pointing to the store on the map.

“I didn’t know it was your birthday today,” Sansa teased and Eleanor smiled, knowing full well that Build-a-Bear was strictly a birthday treat. “How about Bath & Body Works? We can see if they have more of that watermelon body splash you girls like.”

Eleanor and Julia were instantly on board with that and the three began walking in the store’s direction, sometimes stopping at other stores and poking around to see if anything struck their fancy.

“Oh, mama, look!” Julia exclaimed outside of the pet store.

The North had a strict law against selling puppies in their pet stores – the law to discourage puppy mills – so when it came to pet stores, most just sold birds, gerbils, hamsters, rabbits, fish and a variety of reptiles.

The pet store in the Greywater Mall had glass displays in the front of their store and Sansa was not surprised in the least to see Julia run right for the one that housed the biggest snake Sansa had seen since moving here. Eleanor followed after her sister and Sansa followed them both – at a much smaller pace.

“What the Hell is that?” Sansa couldn’t stop the question from falling out of her mouth.

It was massive – brown and tan scales with red near the end of its very long and thick body – and Sansa shivered at the sight of it. Not her girls though. Eleanor was staring at it with wide-eyed fascination and Julia was on her toes, actually trying to reach over the top of the glass so she could touch it.

“Julia, no,” Sansa snatched her hand and pulled it back. She doubted a pet store would actually sell a snake that could kill a person, but come on. Snakes were wild animals – sold as pets or not – and Julia was a little girl. This snake could probably tighten itself around her body within seconds.

“It’s a red-tail boa,” Julia stated, Sansa still holding her hand, but she stood again on her toes again to peer over the top of the glass.

“That’s absolutely right,” a pet-store employee was standing nearby and smiled when he heard Julia. He came to stand on the other side of the glass case. “Are you looking for a snake?” He asked.

“Yes!” Julia exclaimed at the same time Sansa said a firm “No,” with a rapid shake of her head.

“Red-tail boas do take a lot of commitment. They can live to be about thirty years old,” the employee smiled.

“How long do they get?” Eleanor asked.

“10 feet!” Julia answered just as the employee was opening his mouth to do so. “This one looks like it’s almost grown.”

Though the site of this snake was scaring the Hell out of her, Sansa smiled at how much Julia knew and how much she clearly was in love with this monster in front of her.

“Would you like to hold him?” The employee asked and Sansa felt the urge to slap the man.

Julia and Eleanor both gasped and Sansa visibly paused.

“Please, mama, _please_!” Julia turned to Sansa, her hands folded under her chin and she practically bounced on her toes as she pled. And then Eleanor joined in, pleading and begging, and Sansa looked at the massive snake, sighing heavily.

She didn’t actually say yes, but the employee took her sigh to be confirmation.

“Alright, girls. Just relax and stay loose,” he advised as he lifted the heavy snake from its case.

Sansa pulled out her phone, going to the video so she could record this, and she noticed that a few other shoppers had stopped to watch. Eleanor and Julia were as still they could be, but it looked like Julia was holding her breath, the girl almost shaking with excitement. The employee gently placed the snake across both girls’ shoulders and Julia exhaled the great breath, a smile bursting across her face.

And though it was completely terrifying to Sansa to see this massive, heavy snake across her daughters’ shoulders, she had to admit that both just looked so happy and it made Sansa smile, too, as she recorded it. She didn’t even try to hide her shudder when the snake lifted its head and seemed to look right at Julia.

“He’s so heavy,” Julia laughed and Eleanor started to laugh, too, and despite the shudder, Sansa started to laugh along with them.

(She wondered how many times she would have to wash those clothes the girls were wearing to get every bit of snake off of them.)

…

“Mom?”

After the snake and Bath & Body Works, they went to the food court. The three now sat at a table, sharing a large chocolate chip cookie before they would leave to go home.

“Yes, sweetheart?” Sansa looked at her, sitting across from her.

“Do you like Greywater?”

“I love it here!” Julia exclaimed happily as she broke off another piece of cookie.

Sansa looked to Eleanor and gave her a soft smile. “I do like it here. It’s taken some getting used to and I’m still getting used to it, but yes, I do like it. Do you like it?”

Eleanor was quiet, thinking the question over, as she leaned in to break off a piece of cookie. “I don’t know.” Sansa’s heart squeezed in her chest. “I was so excited when dad told us about the move,” Eleanor added. “But it’s not like I thought it would be.”

“I know, Eleanor,” Sansa reached across the table and took her daughter’s hand. “But it will get better. For both of us. I promise.”

Eleanor looked at her and finally, she gave a nod. “Okay.”

Sansa squeezed her hand. “Okay.”

…

She had sent the video of the girls with the boa snake and Jon had showed their brothers; all off them immediately jealous as soon as they saw it.

“I want to go on girl time!” Max whined.

Sansa just laughed and posted the video onto her Instagram account so their family and friends back home could see it as well. No, not back home. Wintertown wasn’t home anymore. Greywater was. She knew that. And she would remember it. She really did like Greywater. She loved this house. The humidity and snakes, not so much, but she was even getting used to the swamp rising and falling whenever it damn well felt like it.

She and Jon got the kids ready for bed and let Martha out before locking things up for the night.

“Now you did all of your homework?” Sansa asked as she tucked Max in, but was asking George.

“I was supposed to build an entire model of the solar system by tomorrow, but eh. I figured that’s an assignment I can skip or at least take credit for Eleanor’s,” George shrugged.

“George!” Sansa gasped and George just laughed. “Not funny. Just for that, tuck yourself in.”

George was still laughing as he crawled into his bed. Sansa kissed Max on his head and went to George anyway to do the same to him.

“Good night, mom,” he grinned up at her and Sansa gave him her best frown as she threw the covers over him, George laughing as they covered his head.

“Go to sleep, you two,” Sansa said, going to the door and flipping off the light, George still laughing.

Eleanor and Julia were already tucked in and asleep. Sansa kissed both of their heads and crept out quietly. In hers and Jon’s bedroom, Jon was already in bed, lying on his back, looking up at the ceiling. Sansa crawled in next to him and kissed his cheek.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“I’m so tired, I’m sleeping with my eyes open,” he grunted.

She smiled and kissed his jaw again. “Can we go out to eat tomorrow?”

Jon turned his head on his pillow to look at her. “Where do you want to go?”

“There’s this really great family restaurant I was reading about. We need to have a favorite restaurant here.”

Jon smiled. “Yeah, we do,” he agreed and lifting his arm, he wrapped it around her shoulders, holding her, and Sansa nestled down into his side. “What kind of restaurant is it?”

“It seems like your usual hodgepodge, but I think Max might even find something he will like. It’s called The Horse Thief, for whatever reason.”

Jon’s smile grew into a grin. “I can get home around four tomorrow.”

“Perfect.”

He tightened his arm around her. “So, just between us, how terrified were you of that boa snake?”

“Almost peed my pants,” Sansa answered and giggled as Jon started laughing and couldn’t seem to stop.

…

_“Sansa_.”

Sansa froze as she the voice appeared behind her. For whatever reason, she couldn’t turn around though.

Did she even want to turn around though? She knew that voice. She would never forget that voice.

_“Sansa. You smell so good.”_

She shivered. He was right behind her. She could feel him. He wasn’t warm. He had no body heat, but she could still feel him. Her heart sped up. Why was he so close? Why couldn’t she turn around to look at him?

_“Do you know what I smell like? Wet cement.”_

Sansa’s heart stopped in mid-beat.

_“Do you know why I smell like that? Because your precious husband drowned me in it.”_

Sansa began breathing again – but only to gasp, trying to gulp in air that couldn’t actually enter her lungs. She gulped and gulped for air, but she couldn’t get any. It was like…

It was like she was drowning.

_“I think it’s time I come back up, don’t you think?”_

…

Sansa woke up with a sharp gasp, flying into a sitting position. Her heart was racing so fast, she thought it would actually stop altogether.

“Wha’?” Jon asked, still more asleep than awake. He sat up, his hand on her back. “Sansa? Sansa, what is it?”

Sansa was still gasping, her hand on her chest, feeling her heart, trying to slow it down again.

“Sansa. Sansa, breathe.” Jon was wide awake now and he put his hands on her face, turning her head towards him. “Look at me, Sansa.” He brushed hair back from her face, her cheeks wet with tears. “Breathe, Sansa. Please breathe.”

He took one of her hands and pressed it to his chest so she could feel and focus on his own heart.

“You’re safe and you’re loved and Ramsay is gone. You’re safe and you’re loved and Ramsay is gone.”

Jon recited the mantra that was to be said when Sansa was having a panic attack or one of her nightmares, but for some reason, it didn’t seem to help. If anything, she was crying and gasping harder. She couldn’t keep breathing like this. She was hyperventilating. Whatever her nightmare had been, she hadn’t had one this bad for a very long time.

She needed a paper bag to breathe into. Did they have a paper bag somewhere? He couldn’t leave her though. He had to keep trying to get her to breathe.

“You’re safe and you’re loved and Ramsay is gone,” Jon kept trying.

Sansa shook her head, sniffling even as more tears kept falling. “He’s not, Jon. Ramsay’s not gone.”

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU!


	12. Chapter 12

…

“Is mama okay?” Julia asked with a frown.

“She’s fine. She just didn’t sleep that well last night and she needs her rest,” Jon said, sitting on the bed and brushing Julia’s hair back into a simple ponytail. She hissed as he hit a tangled snare of curls. “I’m sorry.”

“Here, dad,” Eleanor offered, finishing with her own hair. “I’ll do it. You should help Max.”

“Thanks, Eleanor,” Jon smiled, handing her the brush and standing up. “Once you’re done here, can you girls go downstairs and get yourselves breakfast?”

Both girls nodded their heads as Eleanor went to stand behind Julia and dad left for George and Max’s bedroom. Mom and dad were a team in the mornings and dad seemed a little frazzled that morning without his partner. Both girls decided to help him as much as they could so their mom could keep sleeping.

“Ponytail?” Eleanor wanted to make sure because that’s all dad could do with their hair.

“Could you braid it?” Julia asked excitedly. Eleanor did the best braids; just as good as mama did.

Eleanor smiled and went to go get the comb and more rubber-bands. In no time at all, she had parted Julia’s black curls and within minutes, had given Julia French braided pigtails.

Julia looked to the dresser mirror and beamed. “Thank you, Eleanor. Much better than daddy’s ponytail.”

Eleanor laughed at that, feeling only slightly bad for doing so, but their dad really wasn’t good with their hair although he always did his best. It was funny to her that he couldn’t manage it. His own hair always looked perfectly good to her and Eleanor assumed that he did it himself.

“Do you want to wear your tennis shoes today or Mary Janes?” Eleanor asked, going to the shoe organizer that hung on the back of their bedroom door.

“Pumas! We’re playing kickball in gym today and I can’t wait!” Julia sat down on the floor and Eleanor handed her favorite pair of pink Puma sneakers to her, which went well with the yellow dress with pink flowers she was wearing that day.

Eleanor left and Julia followed her down the stairs into the kitchen. Brandon was already down there, standing at the counter, putting Entenmann’s frosted chocolate donuts onto paper plates.

“Donuts for breakfast on a school day?!” Julia exclaimed, her eyes widening. 

“Dad went out super early this morning and bought a box,” Brandon said, handing Julia one of the plates and then another to Eleanor. He had also pre-poured plastic cups of milk and he handed two to the girls. “We’re making it as easy as we can for mom and dad today,” he added.

Julia happily went to the table to eat her unexpected, delicious breakfast, but Eleanor stayed and frowned at Brandon from across the kitchen island.

“What’s wrong with mom?” She asked.

“She didn’t get a lot of sleep last night,” Brandon said what dad had already said.

Eleanor figured that either Brandon knew and didn’t want to tell her or he didn’t know either.

Either way, she knew she wouldn’t get any real answers to what was going on so with a sigh, she took her donut and cup of milk and went to the table.

“Martha!” Max was shouting as he hopped down the stairs, holding the railing and hopping down each step, George and Jon walking behind him.

Max and Martha had a morning tradition of eating their breakfast together – Martha at her bowls and Max sitting next to her on the floor.

“Martha!” Max called out again, hopping down from the final step. He began to frown. “Where is she?” He turned and looked back to Jon.

“She’s with your mom,” Jon said. “How about we eat breakfast, sitting at the table, this morning?”

…

Sansa wasn’t sure how she – or Jon – managed it, but she was finally able to go back to sleep – just as the sun was ready to rise at dawn. She had Jon behind her and Martha in front of her and Sansa felt too hot with so much of their body heat surrounding her, but Sansa didn’t care and her eyes were able to close again.

In her mind, she could vaguely hear the kids and she knew that Jon was getting them ready for school, but Sansa couldn’t open her eyes and she and Martha stayed in bed, asleep. She didn’t know how long she slept, but when her eyes began to flutter open again, she could tell that it was still light outside. But was it still today or had she slept right through and it was now tomorrow?

Slightly discombobulated, Sansa lifted her head from the pillow. 10:47. And Martha was still with her. The dog lifted her head and looked to Sansa and Sansa was amazed that she was actually able to form a smile. She wrapped both arms around the Husky’s neck and hugged her.

“Good girl,” she whispered, her throat a bit sore from so much crying and labored breathing.

Martha’s tail thumped against the bed as she licked Sansa’s cheek.

Sansa pulled herself from the bed, feeling as if she hadn’t used her body for days, rather than hours. The bedroom door was closed and the house sounded silent; as it be should because the kids were at school and Jon had gone to the office. He _should_ be at the office, but Sansa admitted to being just a tad disappointed. She wished he was still here with her, but she understood why he wasn’t. He had a job and a countless breakdown from his wife couldn’t keep him from doing that job.

She stripped herself of her pajamas, throwing them in the hamper, and turned the shower on. She felt gross. Everything about that nightmare had left her feeling like a hysterical mess because that’s what Ramsay did. He made her feel completely disgusting and the sooner she could wash him off with scalding hot water, she would – _hopefully_ – feel human again.

Sansa was thorough, washing her hair – twice – and using conditioner, shaving her legs and under her arms; not leaving until the entire bathroom was a steam cloud and the water was just a little cooler than when she went in. And when she stepped out, wrapping her fluffy white towel around her body, she did feel a little bit better. Ramsay was not going to do more than he already did. She refused to let him.

She took her time, combing out her hair, partially drying it, and then getting herself dressed. Max would be home in just a half-hour from kindergarten and she wanted to wait in the driveway for him as she always did.

Finally, she opened the door and she and Martha left the bedroom. She poked her head into the kids’ bedrooms to see that they had made their beds as well - as they were supposed to do each morning – and then headed down the stairs.

“No, no, it’s not your fault,” she heard Jon’s voice.

On the kitchen table, she saw a set of blueprints unrolled – the largest table they had for him to do so – and in the office, the two doors were open and she saw Jon sitting at the computer desk, talking on his cell phone, a spreadsheet up on the computer screen.

“It’s just every bid day, I’m always waiting for the lighting price and I don’t know why,” Jon sighed. “Send it as soon as you get it. My bid has to go in at three. Thanks, Jen.”

He hung up and tossed his phone aside, clearly pissed off.

Sansa quietly moved into the kitchen to get herself something to eat.

“You don’t have to be silent,” Jon suddenly said, making her jump a foot. “Shit. I’m sorry.” He knew that sneaking up on Sansa was something he should never do.

Sansa shook her head, her heart speeding. “It’s alright. Really.” She gave him a smile, exhaling a deep breath. “What are you doing, working from home?” She popped two slices of bread into the toaster and took the peanut butter jar down from the cabinet.

Jon didn’t answer her and instead, he came to her, his arms around her. “Are you alright?”

“Relatively speaking.”

“I contacted Dr. Tarth and she has an opening at one o’clock this afternoon if you want to zoom with her.”

Sansa blinked at him, but after a moment, she didn’t know why she felt a little surprised by that. That was what Jon always did for her. He did _everything_. The toast popped up, but Sansa ignored it for the time being.

“I know he’s not coming up,” she whispered. “I know he’s not and I don’t know why he… I don’t know why he won’t leave me alone after all of this time.”

“I called your dad and then I called Arthur,” Jon said, one arm around her waist as his other hand rubbed up and down her back. “It’s never going to happen, Sansa. I promise you. Cement sinks and stays that way and by now, it’s probably completely covered with all sorts of plants and fish have made the cement block their home.”

She nodded. “I know,” she whispered.

And she did. Once something sank to the bottom of the ocean – once _cement_ sank – it stayed down there. And more than that, _no one_ was looking for him. Not even his own father. Roose and Ramsay Bolton had never been fond of one another – to put it lightly – and Roose was probably relieved when Ramsay “left”. Not that she knew anything about the man, but her dad mentioned that Roose had remarried a few years ago and he and his new wife had had a son.

Every time Sansa thought of him – and was driven to a panic attack because of him – it did nothing except give him power and kept him around when that was the last thing she wanted.

“I’m such a disaster. I still am and I’m so sorry I am one,” she said, still whispering.

Jon’s arm tightened around her waist and his lips went to her forehead. “I love you just the way you are.”

“Please don’t quote Billy Joel to me.”

Jon burst into a grin, letting out a laugh, and Sansa felt herself smiling, too. He kissed her forehead again and then dipped his lips down to press them to hers.

…

Max burst into a face-splitting smile as soon as the bus squealed to a stop and looking through the window, he saw his mama and Martha standing in the driveway as they were every other school day, waiting for him.

“Mama!” He practically raced down the steps as fast as he could – as soon as Lonnie, the bus driver, opened the doors – and he went flying to her.

Mama laughed and knelt down so Max could run right into her arms, which he did.

“You’re better!”

“I am,” she smiled at him and nodded. “And I see that daddy let you wear what you wanted today.”

Max grinned, running a hand down the front of his stomach, smoothing out his _Hubba Bubba Hotel_ pajama top that daddy had let him wear to school that day.

Daddy had told him this morning that he was going to pick his battles, whatever that meant, and when Max asked if he could wear this shirt, daddy had just sighed and said “Fine.”

“I told Mrs. Foster that you weren’t feeling good. She said I should make you a card.”

With that, Max whipped out a piece of construction paper in his hand and held it right in front of mama’s face so she wouldn’t miss it.

It was green paper, folded in half. On the front, Max had written in black crayon – FEEL BETTER MAMA!!! – and he had drawn white puffy clouds and a big yellow sun. Inside, there was a red heart – LOVE MAX – and four gray shapes, a white-and-brown shape, and a stick figure with long red hair holding the hand of a smaller stick figure with black curly hair.

“This is Martha-” Max pointed to the white-and-brown shape. “And this is you and me-” he pointed to the two stick figures. “And this is Chloe, Zoe, Vic and Mick!” He pointed to the four gray shapes that were the star hippos of _Hubba Bubba Hotel_.

“Oh, Max, this is beautiful,” mama said, beaming as she looked over every inch of it. “I love it so, so much. Thank you so much, my sweet boy.” Mama pulled him into her arms for a tight squeeze and she kissed his head. “And I love you so much, Max.”

“I love you, too, mama.” Max squeezed his arms around her neck.

“Come.” Mama got to her feet and holding the card in one hand, she took Max’s with her other. “What would you like for lunch?”

“Nutella!”

Mama smiled. “You’re having it on toast.”

…

Jon volunteered to move himself out of the office so he could give her privacy, but Sansa shook her head.

“Don’t be silly. It’s bid day and you need the big screen.” She gave him a quick kiss and then taking her laptop, she left the office. Max was sitting on the floor, eating his toast and Nutella and drinking milk, watching an episode of _Top Chef_. “I’m going upstairs for a little bit and your daddy is working in the office. Will you be alright for a little bit, Max?” Sansa asked.

Max nodded his head, never looking away from the television. “10 minutes! Don’t make pasta!” He then shouted at the show.

Sansa smiled to herself, heading up the stairs and in hers and Jon’s bedroom, she partially closed the door and got herself settled on the bed. She had expected Martha to stay down with Max, but just as Sansa got herself ready, Martha came trotting into the room. She jumped onto the bed and laid herself out at Sansa’s side, Sansa smiling and scratching the dog’s neck.

It took her a moment to connect and call Dr. Tarth and another moment before her beloved therapist answered. Sansa couldn’t help but exhale the moment she saw the woman on the screen.

“Hello, Sansa,” Dr. Tarth smiled.

“I am so, so sorry. You gave me a list of therapists to try and I…” she swallowed. “I just didn’t connect with any of them like I connected with you.”

“I’m very flattered at that,” the woman said, still smiling. “And it’s alright, Sansa. It’s hard to find a good therapist that you feel comfortable with. I would suggest you give them another try, but you know I don’t mind at all meeting you like this. I’m always here for you whenever you need me.”

Sansa exhaled again. She had gone to three separate therapists in Greywater for an hour-long session each, but it wasn’t the same as it had been with Dr. Tarth; for the past few years, she had been seeing the woman, once – sometimes twice – a week and calling her whenever she needed her. Dr. Tarth knew everything about her. (Well, except for a particular concrete block in the ocean.) And Sansa didn’t know if she would be able to explain everything all over again to another therapist.

“Jon said you had a vicious panic attack last night and were hyperventilating.”

Sansa nodded, swallowing.

“Will you tell me about it?”

“It was about Ramsay. He won’t leave me alone.”

“Alright,” Dr. Tarth nodded and Sansa could see her arm moving off screen; knowing that the woman was writing things down. “Let’s get to it. Are you ready?”

Sansa didn’t hesitate. “I’m ready.”

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU!! And yes, I'm still plugging along with this story and this universe.


	13. Chapter 13

…

“Penny for my thoughts?” Sansa echoed Dr. Tarth.

The other woman smiled through the computer screen. “It’s just going to be a little experiment. I have a feeling that you think that Ramsay is _always_ on your mind. I know you think you haven’t been making progress. This will show you otherwise. Anytime he enters your mind – for whatever reason – I want you to drop a penny into a designated jar. Now, at first, I’m sure you will be dropping more pennies because you’ll see the jar and automatically think of him. But eventually, I think you’ll see that he doesn’t have as much power over you as possible.”

After their zoom session, Sansa closed the laptop and remained sitting on the bed for another moment. A penny for her thoughts. It did sound like a very good idea. This was why she paid Dr. Tarth and couldn’t find a replacement for her in Greywater. No matter how good the therapist might be, there was only _one_ Dr. Tarth.

“Come on, Martha, girl,” Sansa said, pulling herself from the bed and Martha was right with her as Sansa left the bedroom and headed back down the stairs.

Max’s snack of Nutella and toast and a glass of milk was all gone, the empty plastic plate and plastic cup both on the floor. A different episode of _Top Chef_ was now on the television, but Max wasn’t there, watching it. Sansa went to pick both of those up, taking them into the kitchen. She then followed the voices she heard and found Max and Jon both in the office, sitting at the computer.

“What do you think?” Jon asked, Max sitting in his lap. “How much?”

“30 percent!” The boy exclaimed.

Jon smiled. “That might be a little too high. Remember that the factory has their markup, the rep then adds their own. The lighting quote puts their markup on it so they make money, too, so by the time it gets to me, this price already has been raised a few times.”

Max nodded. “Everyone has to make money,” he recited what Jon had said before, more than once.

Sansa pursed her lips together to keep from laughing at the adorableness of what she was watching.

“That’s right,” Jon agreed. “So we should lower our own markup so we still have a low number but are still making money for all of my workers and the company.”

Max stared at the official quote Jon had spent all day morning, putting together, and once it was finished, Jon would put it in a large envelope and drop it off to the project engineer’s designated office who was putting the whole thing together and deciding on winners. Sansa didn’t know how Jon did it. It would be too stressful for her; constantly bidding on projects, hoping to win just a fraction of those, and then running a team of workers to purchase the material to physically put that project together, keeping track of payments and bills.

But Jon was so good at it. It was amazing at how good he was at it. He had started this company with a loan from her parents and just Tormund on his team and then they began to win small jobs. Smaller jobs led to slightly bigger ones and Jon’s team grew with Edd and Val and they kept winning and Snow Construction’s reputation began to spread; so much so that the Baratheon Brothers, owners of the largest construction company in all of Westeros wanted Jon and his team and Snow Construction as part of them.

Sansa would have a panic attack just about every day if she and Jon ever switched places and she was in charge of putting together a project bid.

“10 percent?” Max then guessed, turning his head to look back at Jon.

“Let’s try and see what our numbers look like,” Jon nodded and then typed it into his spreadsheet, both he and Max seeing how that marked everything up.

Leaving them to their father/son activity, Sansa turned and went back into the kitchen. She needed to find a jar for pennies. Oh! She actually had the perfect one. Going back to the office, she moved as quietly as she could, not wanting to interrupt Jon during work, regardless of their five-year-old son sitting on his lap.

But Jon saw her the instant she stepped into the room. “Hey,” he smiled and Sansa smiled, too. “How did Dr. Tarth go?” He asked.

“Hi, mama!” Max beamed excitedly. “I’m helping daddy! We’re going to win this bid!”

Sansa laughed. “And what are you bidding?”

Max’s head spun back to the computer screen to read the title of the quote. “I don’t know,” he then shrugged, making Sansa laugh again; Max smiling as she did. He liked when he could make mama laugh; especially when she hadn’t been feeling good that morning.

“And Dr. Tarth was wonderful,” Sansa answered Jon’s question. “Thank you for setting that up for me.”

Jon just shrugged, only glad he could help Sansa in some way. He watched as she went to her sewing supplies on the built in bookshelves in the corner of the room. He didn’t ask what she was looking for; knowing that he couldn’t help her look. He never dared touched Sansa’s sewing supplies, convinced he would mess it all up somehow. And besides, he was too busy watching her to offer his help.

She looked lighter and happier. And seeing her like that, Jon felt as if he could finally breathe; having had difficulty since last night when she had woken up, so terrified.

Sansa pulled down a glass jar, full of buttons. “Got it,” she said, more to herself. She came to Jon and Max, giving them both kisses on the head before heading for the door. “I was thinking taco casserole for dinner. How does that sound?”

“That sounds great,” Jon smiled and Sansa was already smiling and it grew across her face. He wanted to ask what she and Dr. Tarth had talked about, but husband or no, he knew that whatever Sansa talked about with her therapist was just meant to be between the two.

He heard her moving around in the kitchen as he and Max went back to looking over the quote. A few minutes later, Max was squirming and Jon knew he was getting bored. He sent the boy back to watch _Top Chef_ and now, Jon went over the final quote with sharp eyes and a fine-tooth comb.

Once it was all printed, he slid it into the sealed SNOW CONSTRUCTION BID envelope and came from the office. Bids had to be turned in by three and the drive – hopefully – would just be fifteen minutes. It was only two, but he was going to leave right now though. Why wait to the last minute?

Max was now playing with his castle set with the cooking show still on, but not being watched, and Martha was laying on the carpet next to him, chewing one of her rawhide bones. Sansa was at the stove, browning two pounds of ground beef that they had just bought and had been in the refrigerator rather than the freezer. The glass jar was now on the counter – the buttons having been put into a Ziploc bag – and in the jar, there were two pennies.

“What’s this about?” Jon couldn’t stop from asking.

Sansa turned her head from the stove to him even though she knew what he was asking about. “A penny for my thoughts. It was Dr. Tarth’s idea. She wanted me to see for myself that I don’t think about something as much as I think I do.”

Jon looked down to the jar for a moment and then back to Sansa. It was so simple and yet, the visual of it might help Sansa more than most things had over the years. No wonder Sansa couldn’t find a therapist in Greywater. Why would she want another therapist when she could still have sessions with Dr. Tarth, who was obviously the most brilliant therapist in all of Westeros? (But then, why did it take her so long to think of such a thing? Not the point, Jon, he added.)

“That’s a brilliant idea,” he then said and Sansa let out a slight laugh.

“I’ll let Dr. Tarth know that you think so,” she said.

Jon left the envelope for the moment so he could go to his wife and coming from behind, he wound his arms around her waist, forming his chest to her back, and he began pressing kisses to the side of her face and throat. Over and over again until Sansa was laughing and he was grinning against her skin. He kept kissing her and Sansa kept smiling and laughing and Jon was glad the drop-off office was just fifteen minutes away.

…

The man who ran the Alcoholics Anonymous meetings on Sunday afternoon in the church, Henry, had called Jon and asked if he could run the meeting for him today. He had a family emergency and wouldn’t be able to make it and would he mind filling in for him?

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Jon said as Sansa covered the pan of freshly baked lemon bars with tinfoil.

“It’s a very big deal and you know it. Out of everyone in that room, Henry knew he could ask you to run the meeting,” Sansa disagreed. “Now here. Take these and go.”

She pushed the pan into his hands and Jon felt like he should keep the argument going, but he did have to go. He gave her a quick kiss and headed out the door. He supposed he could look at it from Sansa’s perspective and consider it a big deal. It _could_ be a big deal. Jon was going on his almost sixteenth year of sobriety. That was a big deal no matter how a person looked at it. And Henry obviously thought Jon could handle it.

But Henry had also Beric Dondarrion, another one who attended the meetings to help run it, so maybe he didn’t think that Jon could handle it.

Either way, Jon was going to run the Hell out of this meeting. He had never run an AA meeting before in all of his years going to one and he obviously knew how these things went, but he wanted it to go as good as it could. He had never thought of running a meeting, but now that he was going to, he found himself nervous and excited and maybe this wouldn’t be the last one he ran. Or maybe he was going to completely hate it and if Henry ever asked him to do this again, Jon would tell him Hell no.

Beric Dondarrion had as many years sober as Jon; a high school geography teacher (but not a teacher of Brandon’s) with ginger hair and an eye patch. Jon had never asked him about it – that being far from his business – but, somehow, Beric made that eye patch look actually pretty natural.

When Jon came into the classroom in the church were the meeting was, Beric was already there as well as a couple of other people. Jon smiled at them and placed the pan of lemon bars down at the table along with the coffee machine and the box of donuts.

“My wife made lemon bars. They’re her specialty,” Jon let them know and then he went to the table set up at the front of the room next to the podium.

The two were already peeling back the tinfoil and peeking inside before one quickly grabbed a plastic knife to begin helping themselves. Beric was at the table, sipping a cup of coffee, and he smiled around the rim when Jon approached.

“Ready for this?” Beric asked.

“No,” he answered truthfully and Beric grinned.

Beric tossed him a bulky manila envelope and Jon caught it, the weight surprising him. Peeking inside, he saw that it was the plastic keychains. Some meetings gave out plastic chips to mark periods of sobriety and some meetings gave out different colored plastic keychains. Greywater meetings handed out keychains.

“Do you sign these?” A man had come up to the table, holding up a piece of paper that had obviously been crumpled and then uncrumpled.

Jon and Beric both looked at it, recognizing it right away. A court order.

Beric nodded, taking another sip of his coffee. “After the meeting,” he said and then taking the paper, he handed it to Jon.

“Not before?” The man asked.

“If we signed it now, what would make you stay for the meeting?” Jon asked. “There’s lemon bars in the back. Help yourself.”

The man sighed with a frown and turned, walking away.

Jon laid the key chains out, by color, on the table – to be handed out at the end of the meeting if anyone had earned one this evening – and collected two more court orders from two others who arrived. And when the hour struck three, Jon looked to Beric, who remained sitting, sipping his coffee, and seemed to be fine with letting Jon take the lead.

With a soft breath to himself, Jon stood up from behind the table, his chair next to Beric’s. “Alright. We can get started. I want to thank everyone for coming. I’m Jon and I’m an alcoholic. I’ve also been sober for a little over fifteen years.”

“Hi, Jon,” Beric and the others who had been to meetings before and knew how it worked responded to him.

“The podium is open at these meetings for anyone who would like to share. There is no judgement here. Anything you say, it stays in here, between all of us. Anything you say, it’s not the worst thing we’ve heard. Now, would anyone like to share?”

At first, no one moved or volunteered.

Beric took a sip of coffee and stood up. “I’ll go.”

Again, Jon exhaled a soft breath to himself and gave Beric a smile as he moved to sit down and Beric went to take his place behind the podium.

“I’m Beric and I’m an alcoholic,” he began.

“Hi, Beric.”

“I’m about fifteen years sober as well. But not a single day has been easy. I still remember before I started coming here. I lost a bad wife. A good girlfriend. A nice car and house. A cushy job at a private school. Even my dog, when my wife left me. I managed to piss off every single person in my life who was ever stupid enough to help me. And you know what? When I was outside, begging for enough money from anyone so I could get myself a bottle of Jameson, you know what I told myself? Beric, I said. You’re doing alright.”

There was scattered laughter at that and Jon cracked a smile. Beric grinned, too.

“But no matter how hard these past fifteen years have been for me, I never let myself forget how it used to be because I know that my hardest day, sober, is a piece of cake compared to my life as a drunk. It’s nice to wake up and know where I am and not to have vomit all over my clothes. It’s nice to have friends who trust me. It’s nice to have a job again where people actually think I know what I’m talking about and not laughing at me because I’m making a fool of myself as the drunk in the bar. It’s not easy, but it’s nice. I like nice. Thank you for letting me share.”

There was applause and Beric gave a smile before going back to his seat. Jon smiled and the two exchanged a smile as Jon stood up and returned to the podium.

“Thank you, Beric. Would anyone else like to share?”

This time, a woman raised her hand, getting to her feet, and Jon smiled, stepping aside for her.

Two hours later, after everyone who wanted to had shared and keychains were handed out, Jon signed the court order forms to return to the proper people.

“Would you like to come over to my place?” Jon asked Beric as the room emptied out. “You can meet my wife and kids and you can stay for dinner.”

Jon had no idea if Beric had a family of his own or dinner plans. Maybe he didn’t want to see Jon longer than he had to. But he had asked him over without much thought and he didn’t talk to take it back.

But Beric smiled. “That’d be great.”

…

Jon wasn’t surprised in the least that upon introductions, Sansa hugged Beric and made sure that he was staying for dinner; and if he wasn’t, Sansa was going to make him stay. Jon introduced him to all of the kids – “He’s a friend from my meetings,” Jon said and Beric seemed surprised that all of the kids knew about Jon’s meetings – and like Sansa, they were so happy to meet him. George and Eleanor asked if he wanted to play LIFE with them and Max showed him his castle set.

As they waited for dinner to finish, Sansa handed Beric a cold bottle of Coke and another to Jon.

“May I ask? Are you Jon’s sponsor?” She asked.

Beric shook his head, in the middle of taking a swig of Coke. “He’s actually mine.”

Jon looked at him with wide eyes. “I am? I was going to ask you to be mine.”

The two men looked at one another and the oven timer began to beep. Sansa let out a laugh and went to get her mitts.

“Well, that’s convenient,” she commented. “You can help each other.”

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been waiting FOREVER to find a spot to add Beric to this universe. THANK YOU for reading this one! When will I end it? The way this is going - never.


	14. Chapter 14

…

Ned and Catelyn’s house was large enough for the whole Snow family to stay there when they came up from Greywater, back to Wintertown, for their fall break. And as they expected, snow had already fallen in Wintertown and even with some melting, there was at least one or two good inches on the ground.

Jon had gone to a few job sites with Edd, Val and Tormund because although the original team talked just about every day about ongoing jobs and upcoming projects, Jon was still the head boss and wanted to see everything’s progress for himself. Brandon had gone with Arthur to the police station for the morning – “No crime scenes, Arthur,” Sansa had made sure her father-in-law knew – and then in the afternoon, he was meeting his friends, Alaric, Victoria and Little Sam to hang out at the mall.

George, Eleanor, Julia and Max were bundled up and in the backyard, playing in the snow, with a _very_ excited Martha; the Siberian Husky so happy and hyper, she was practically diving face first into banks of snow, which made the kids laugh every time. Their cousins, Morgan and Madison, were over as well, the younger girls delighted to be playing with their dear cousins who had moved away and had returned for a visit.

And in the warmth of the sunroom on the back of the Stark house, Sansa and Margaery sipped cups of hot chocolate and watched their children through the windows with smiles.

Sansa admitted that she couldn’t stop glancing over to Margaery every few seconds though and more specifically, Margaery’s _finger_. She and Margaery spoke at least three times a week and she and Jon spoke with Robb just as often and Sansa couldn’t help but ask every time if there was any reconciliation possible.

Yes, Robb and Margaery loved their fights and drama. They always had. That was just who they were. Jon and Sansa had talked about it; how having a relationship and marriage like Robb and Margaery’s would absolutely exhaust them, but it always seemed to have worked for Robb and Margaery.

Apparently not though because Margaery’s left third finger was still naked as was Robb’s. Sansa still couldn’t quite believe it. Thankfully though, neither her brother or her best friend were expecting her to take sides.

The next time Sansa glanced over to Margaery, Margaery looked to her and smiled a little as Sansa flushed for having been caught.

“Greywater agrees with you,” Margaery noted.

“Does it?” Margaery nodded. “How so?”

“Well, your hair _loves_ the humidity,” Margaery said and Sansa laughed.

“It does,” Sansa nodded with agreement. “It’s kind of amazing how many good hair days I have now. Poor Julia and Max though. They have their dad’s hair through and through.”

Margaery laughed at that and then took a sip of hot chocolate. “Robb officially filed,” she then informed her.

Sansa had just taken her own sip of hot chocolate and proceeded to choke on it. Margaery leaned over and was about to pound her back, but Sansa shook her head, stopping her, and finally, she was able to breathe again, her eyes stinging with tears.

“What?” She gasped. She knew they had taken their rings off and that Robb had moved out of the house and filing for divorce would be the next step, she supposed, but a reconciliation could have happened, too.

“We talked and he asked if I wanted to do it but I told him that he could but I was in the car so I guess… we kind of filed together.”

Sansa really had no idea what to say. Her heart began to speed up. She had just… She had just thought that Robb and Margaery were like her and Jon and would be together forever. She couldn’t imagine _not_ being with Jon and even through all of their fights, Robb and Margaery – somehow – just seemed to fit together.

Sansa couldn’t even imagine how it would be if Jon came to her and told her that he wanted a divorce. She couldn’t even fathom such a thing happening.

“What about Morgan and Madison?” Sansa managed to ask.

Margaery was looking out the windows – the kids were now throwing snowballs at each other and Martha was running and leaping into the air, trying to catch snowballs in her mouth.

“Robb and I were discussing that. I’ve been thinking about moving back down to Highgarden. My brother is down there as is my grandmother and she’s getting older and I want to be closer to her. Robb would stay in Wintertown, of course. We were playing around with the idea that the girls would spend half of the year down in Highgarden with me and then the other half of the year with Robb, here.”

Sansa was trying to breathe. Margaery and Robb were officially getting a divorce? Margaery was moving to Highgarden? This was all moving so quickly; _everything_ was changing and how did Margaery and Robb truly feel about it? Did Morgan and Madison even understand what was going on?

“I don’t know what to say,” Sansa then said with a shake of her head.

Margaery gave her the smallest smile. “You don’t have to say anything, Sansa. You sitting with me and drinking hot chocolate is helping me more than you know.”

Sansa reached over and took her dear friend’s hand. Even if Margaery might – soon – not be her official sister-in-law anymore, they would always be dear friends – and Morgan and Madison would always be her children’s cousins, so in that way, Margaery would always be family, too.

She also had to check in on her brother. She knew Robb. He would put on a brave face and act like everything was fine. As the oldest, Robb had always tried to shoulder everything – whether he actually needed to or not. She knew that Robb was going to be as strong as he could be for himself and his daughters but he needed to know that he could be sad, too.

“Has Tormund been any help?” Sansa then asked.

Before she moved to Greywater, she, Margaery and Tormund were quite the trio and she hoped that even with her gone, Margaery and Tormund were keeping up being a duo.

“He has,” Margaery laughed. “He’s beginning to try his hand at cooking and I’m his test hamster.”

“You mean guinea pig?”

“He calls it test hamster.”

Sansa smiled and squeezed Margaery’s hand again. The smile then began to fade. “Are you alright?”

Margaery turned her head away from the windows to look at Sansa. She did her best to give a small smile. “I don’t know. I know your brother and I aren’t happy. So hopefully, we can be again.”

…

“Text me, man!” Alaric shouted out the window as his mom backed from the driveway and Brandon held up a hand in a farewell.

When the car drove away, Brandon’s smile dropped almost immediately. He turned and trudged back to his grandparents’ house. Inside, he could smell roasting beef and knew his grandma was cooking dinner. He had had a Aunt Annie’s pretzel at the mall – which normally wouldn’t be enough to make him feel full – but the pretzel was still like lead in his stomach and he didn’t know if he’d be able to eat anything else today.

Instead of going down the hall towards the kitchen and family room, where he could hear his siblings, Brandon turned and headed up the stairs, taking them two at a time. His grandparents had given everyone their own rooms and Brandon was staying in one of the guest rooms for the weekend. Mom and dad were staying in the bedroom that used to be hers (and Brandon’s when he was a baby and they lived here), Eleanor was in Arya’s room, George was in Bran’s, Julia was in Robb’s and Max was in Rickon’s bedroom (because it was right across the hall from mom’s in case he needed them).

Brandon went into his room, almost leaping back when he saw that his mom was in there. She looked just as surprised to see him as well.

“I’m sorry,” she then laughed. “I wasn’t snooping. I promise.”

Brandon smiled a little, too. “It’s alright. I didn’t bring anything with me for you to snoop out.” He went to the bed and sitting at the foot, he began untying his boots. “What are you doing in here?”

“Max. He hid his lunch for later but now, he can’t remember where he hid it. _Of course_. I was just making sure it wasn’t here and you would roll over onto a peanut butter sandwich in the middle of the night.”

Brandon’s smile grew and he then began unwinding his scarf from around his neck.

“How were Alaric, Victoria and Little Sam?” Mom asked.

Brandon paused at the question and then began undoing the buttons on his coat. He waited another moment before shrugging. “I don’t…” he stopped himself, taking another pause, trying to figure out exactly what it was that he wanted to say.

Mom came and sat next to him, looking at him. “Did you have fun?”

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “Everything’s different now. Am I different?” He looked to her.

“I don’t think you are, but I agree that everything is different. We moved away and as we started a new life two hours away, our friends and family were here, living their own lives. Do you think you’re different?”

“Alaric, Victoria and Little Sam don’t hang out anymore. Alaric hangs out with the cross country team, Victoria plays clarinet in marching band now and Little Sam has started hanging out with the skateboarders. They aren’t friends anymore. We all got into high school and went our own ways.”

He hated saying that out loud. He, Alaric and Victoria had known each other since they were _babies_ – all being in the university’s daycare together as their parents worked – and then, when he was four and met Little Sam, they were instant best friends and the four went to the same elementary, middle schools and junior high together. They were inseparable. Victoria had even been Brandon’s first crush.

But then, Brandon moved away with his family to Greywater and none of his friends were friends anymore.

It made his stomach feel tight and his throat feel scratchy.

And mom was able to read his mind because she put her arm around his shoulders. “They might not be friends anymore but are they your friends?”

Brandon thought that for a moment. “I don’t know. Alaric and me have things in common because of cross country but even then… we talked a little about school but mostly, we just talked about things the four of us used to do together.”

“Some things are like that. I know it doesn’t make it easy or better but sometimes, people come into your life for a little bit and then they’re gone again.” Mom squeezed her arm around him. “And what’s wrong with sharing amazing memories with a group of friends? You four went through so many things together and shared things together and no one in this world will _ever_ have the memories the four of you have. And even years from now, the four of you might still have those memories. That will always keep you four together whether you talk tomorrow or don’t talk for the next ten years.”

Brandon sniffled at that and he felt embarrassed for being so emotional but he knew that if he _had_ to sniffle, doing it with his mom was the time to do it. And when she heard it, mom hugged him with both arms and kissed him on the side of the head.

“I really like living in Greywater,” Brandon then said and he did so quietly as if he didn’t want others to hear.

“I’m so glad you do,” mom said, quiet, too. “Your dad and I want nothing more than you kids being happy.”

“Are you happy living in Greywater?” Brandon asked her and then looked to mom as she thought it over; truly thought it over before giving Brandon her answer.

“I am. I’ve had my ups and downs since the move but it does feel like home now, doesn’t it?” She asked.

Brandon nodded and she kissed his head again.

“Alaric, Victoria and Little Sam _did_ bond over their teasing of me,” Brandon began to smile. “I didn’t take my coat off the entire time we were in the mall. I couldn’t warm up and they said my blood was thin now.”

Mom laughed at that and she then kicked out one of her legs, wiggling her foot. “I’m wearing two pairs of socks,” she revealed and Brandon’s smile broke into a wide grin.

…

Catelyn admitted to go _slightly_ overboard when it came to cooking for the days Sansa, Jon and her grandchildren were visiting and staying with her. And of course, Lyanna and Arthur came for dinner each night – and sometimes breakfast, too.

All of hers and Ned’s children were grown and moved out of the house and Catelyn _loved_ having a full table again with so many people and so much noise. It made her smile and want to cry all at the same time.

Arthur and Brandon were talking about the Wintertown Police Department and what they had done together that day. Catelyn listened only to make sure that Brandon hadn’t seen a dead body.

Jon and Lyanna were talking about the newest job Snow Construction had just finished – a new art gallery downtown – and Jon was commending his team saying that they didn’t have any need for him anymore.

“That’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever said,” Ned frowned at his son-in-law. “I was driving by one of your job sites the other day and decided to stop in. Edd looked like he wanted to cry.”

That made Jon grin.

George was talking with his mom and asking her if they could go to the record store tomorrow and Eleanor asked if they could go to the used bookstore.

“And the candy store!” Max added in exclamation.

Sansa looked to her littlest one’s plate. “Hmmm. I thought I said you had to eat at least half of everything on that plate. A boy who doesn’t eat his dinner certainly doesn’t want to go to the candy store.” Max proceeded to pick up one of the pieces of roast that Sansa had cut for him and shove the whole thing into his mouth. “Max,” Sansa frowned though she obviously wanted to smile. “Sensible bites.”

Jon leaned into his wife and whispered something to her that had Sansa laugh and burst into a blush. She looked to Jon and whispered something back that had him grinning and then leaning in, giving her a kiss.

Julia was sitting next to Catelyn and Catelyn looked to the girl’s plate. She was really going to start crying. They were having peas as one of their sides and Julia had always eaten her peas one by one. And she was doing the same tonight.

Catelyn had been so upset when Jon, Sansa and the children had moved away. She loved them all so much and she was so worried that she was just going to miss everything; that she would become a grandma who only saw her grandchildren on holidays.

But Julia still ate her peas the way she always had. That was still the same.

And Catelyn wanted to cry because it was.

Ned leaned in then from her other side. “Shhhhh, love,” he whispered in her ear. “We still have them until Sunday morning,” he reminded her.

Catelyn looked to her husband – he knew her so well – and at the same time, she smiled and cried. That meant they had Saturday morning, Saturday night and Sunday morning still. It wasn’t enough time but it was all she had before they left for Greywater again so Catelyn would do everything to _make_ it enough time.

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are we still going with this one? It sure looks like it. THANK YOU for reading and commenting!


	15. Chapter 15

…

George was ten and he was probably too old for it, but he held his mom’s hand anyway. He had only been in a hospital when Julia and Max were born – and then his cousins – but those times hadn’t been like this.

They stood on the elevator with several other people – a couple of them wearing blue scrubs – and when the doors opened with a ding on the fourth floor, Sansa politely said, “excuse me”, and everyone moved aside so she and George could step off. He still held her hand and Sansa gave it a squeeze, looking down to him with a smile.

There were doctors and nurses and a few patients were walking down the long, big hallway in either direction. Sansa led them to the desk that was positioned right across from the bank of elevators.

“Hello,” Sansa smiled. “Could you please tell me which room Molly Wheaton is in?”

“Of course,” the nurse behind the computer nodded with a smile and George watched as she clacked away on her keyboard. “Alright, she’s in room 433. Go down this way, hang a right and she’s the first door on your left,” the nurse said while pointing down the hall in the right direction.

“Thank you so much,” Sansa said, still smiling, and then she and George turned, heading down the hallway. George still held her hand and Sansa squeezed it once more. “It’s okay to be nervous, George. And even a little scared. But just remember that Molly are probably those things, too.”

George nodded, looking up at the plastic room numbers next to each door. And when they reached room 433, they paused. Sansa looked down to George, who looked up at her.

“Ready?” She asked.

George swallowed and nodded, still not speaking. He _was_ a little scared even though he told himself not to be. This was Molly. There was no reason to be scared. And mom was right. _Molly_ was the one in the hospital, not him. He had to be strong and brave for his best friend right now.

Sansa leaned down and kissed the top of his head and then gently pulled her hand from his so she could push the door open.

To be honest, she was feeling a little scared and nervous, too, though she didn’t quite know why. She had obviously been inside of a hospital more than a few times and yet, this time, felt different. Perhaps it was because it was for a ten-year-old child and children never should be in hospitals as patients.

Because of Molly’s cerebral palsy, it was very important that she didn’t get sick. Her immune system wasn’t as strong as other children’s her age and a simple sickness could lead to far more serious consequences. But since Molly didn’t live in a bubble and Mary wanted her daughter to live as normal a life as possible, Molly getting sick was always a very real possibility.

Her simple cold had gotten a little worse and Mary had admitted Molly into the hospital, fearful that it could turn itself into pneumonia. Sansa and Jon weren’t sure if George could – or should – visit Molly in the hospital but speaking with Mary on the phone yesterday, she had told Sansa that Molly would love to see him and Eleanor if they wanted to come see her.

At the moment, Sansa had just brought George. Eleanor had the sniffles – the same cold that seemed to be going through all of the schools – and the last thing Sansa wanted was for Eleanor to make Molly worse or for Eleanor to catch something further in the hospital.

George stepped into the room first followed by Sansa. He moved slowly, not sure what to expect. If Molly was sleeping, he didn’t want to wake her up. They passed the bathroom and rounding the corner, his eyes immediately fell on his friend, she laying in the bed. She had a single room so she was the only patient there. The television bolted to the wall across from her was turned on and she was watching it. Mary was sitting in a chair next to the bed, reading a book, and there was a machine next to Molly’s bed – George could see a few wires leading from it to various points on Molly’s body – beeping steadily.

“Oh, you came!” Mary exclaimed, seeing them. Her smile was instant. She set her book aside and hurried to her feet. “I’m so glad you came.” She hugged George first and then she and Sansa hugged.

“Look what we’ve brought you, Molly,” Sansa approached the bed with a smile.

Molly looked at the bouquet of white carnations that had been designed and arranged to look like a cat. She smiled at the sight of it and Sansa smiled, too. She bent down and kissed her head.

“How are you feeling, sweetie?” She asked, setting the basket of flowers down on the bedside table. George still hadn’t said anything but Sansa knew that he would. He was still just getting used to being in a hospital.

Molly nodded at Sansa’s question and Sansa smiled.

“She’s so much better. The doctor is thinking she’ll be able to either come home tomorrow or the day after that,” Mary said, standing on the other side of her daughter’s bed, smiling down at her.

“I went next door to your house to visit Adelaide this morning. She is scrubbing and cleaning the house top to bottom,” Sansa said.

“I keep telling her that she’s Molly’s nurse, not our maid.”

“Yes. And I can see that Adelaide truly listens to you.”

Mary laughed at that and then looked to George. “George, if we can get Molly in a wheelchair, would you like to push her around the hallways for a little bit? I know Molly goes crazy looking at these four walls. Would you want to do that, Molls?”

Molly immediately nodded her head and looked to George.

Finally, George seemed to “snap” out of it.

“Yeah, we can do that,” he readily agreed. Mary hit the button that called for the nurse as she began to gently move the blankets off of Molly’s body. “I got her,” he then said, going to her wheelchair in the corner and driving it right next to the bed.

“George, let’s wait for the nurse,” Sansa said but she helped straighten Molly’s legs and Mary made sure that she wasn’t going to get tangled in her wires.

George slipped one arm under Molly’s legs and his other around her back. Sansa and Mary offered their assistance as George lifted her from the bed and got her down in her wheelchair, only grunting just a little. Mary got her legs adjusted and Sansa took one of the blankets from the bed, folding it over Molly’s lap.

“You two stay on this floor, alright?” Sansa said.

“We will,” George promised for both of them.

As he passed her, Sansa put her hand on the back of her son’s head, smiling and feeling warm with pride and love for him. George gave her a smile – as if he could read her mind – and he then hurried ahead to get the door and hold it open for Molly.

Once they left, Mary straightened the bed again and then with a sigh, she turned, leaning against the side of it. Sansa came to her side, leaning against the bed as well.

“He’s getting really good at that,” Mary commented.

“He’s been lugging Max around as much as he can. I don’t think Max minds. He loves piggyback rides.”

Mary sighed heavily then and looked to Sansa. “I’m very tired.”

Sansa gave her a small smile and put her arm around Mary’s shoulders. “I don’t even know what I was looking for but I wound up reading about the famous mud baths of Greywater. Is that a thing?”

Mary smiled. “It is. I’ve never had one, but women from all over Westeros come to the spas in Greywater for some authentic Neck mud.”

Something about that made Sansa laugh. “Well, I see a therapist and she said I should find something to do just for me. Not as a wife or a mother, but as Sansa. And I think a mud bath at a Greywater spa is what I am going to choose to do for myself. And I’m going to need support for my first mud bath. Once Molly is home again and life has returned to normal, will you come with me? We can experience it together.”

Mary looked at her, quiet. And then she sighed – softly this time. “I’m so glad you and your family moved in next door to us,” she said.

Sansa smiled, too, and turning, she wrapped her arms around Mary’s shoulders in a hug. “Me, too.”

And she meant that completely.

…

Robert Baratheon had sent his daughter to the Neck a couple of weeks earlier. “To get her away from her mother’s influence for a bit,” he had explained when he told Jon about it.

She was now working the front desk at Snow Construction’s office. She also was helping some with billing and payroll. Jon had told Sansa more than once that already, Myrcella Baratheon was a godsend and he only hoped that she was able to stay in Greywater for quite some time.

Sansa had known Myrcella for so many years. Robert and his wife, Cersei, divorced and sometimes, for Christmas, Robert would come to the Stark home in the North, bringing Myrcella and her younger brother, Tommen with him. The Stark children always liked Myrcella and Tommen so much more than their older brother, Joffrey.

“Hi, Myrcella!” Eleanor greeted as she and Sansa entered through the front door of the office.

The pretty blonde smiled at them both from behind her desk. “Well, hi, you two! Is Jon expecting you?” She then asked Sansa.

“Not exactly. Is he free?” Sansa asked.

Myrcella looked over her shoulder, looking into the interior office of Snow Construction and then beckoned Sansa closer to her desk. She turned sideways, towards her computer, and Sansa came to stand behind her, leaning in over her shoulder. She brought up a webpage.

“I’ve been reading about it all morning. Greywater State Hospital,” Myrcella said. “It was the largest mental institution in all of the North. Hundreds of patients. Massive in size. It closed about thirty years ago because of budget cuts.”

Sansa looked at the pictures of the abandoned hospital, some of it boarded up, walls covered in growing foliage and colorful graffiti; paint peeling, beds and wheelchairs just waiting for the patients to come back.

Seeing it all, Sansa got a chill.

“Big news today. A group of doctors, therapists and psychiatrist fell into some grant money. A _lot_ of grant money. They’re going to work to reopen this place,” Myrcella said, turning in her chair and Sansa taking a step back so they could look to one another. “Uncle Stannis is coming up tomorrow and he and Jon have a meeting with the mayor and the town council and the board of doctors.”

Sansa felt her mouth open, stunned for a moment. “Has Jon… did they win this project?”

She didn’t even know he was bidding something like this. He normally told her what he was working on and she certainly would remember if he had mentioned _this_. The sheer size of Greywater State Hospital would make this project in the high, _high_ millions. It would be the largest project – by far – that Snow Construction _and_ Baratheon Projects had ever done. This would be a life-changing project for Jon.

“I’m not privy to things like that, but…” Myrcella looked towards the office again as if worried that one of the guys would overhear. “But,” she continued in a whisper. “I’ve heard that the mayor and the council want Jon and my dad and uncle involved.”

“Oh my God,” Sansa whispered. “That’s…” she tried to find the perfect word, but words were alluding her at the moment. “That’s incredible.” It wasn’t enough, but she supposed it would suffice for the moment. She looked to Eleanor, who was at the small waiting area, straightening the various magazines on the coffee table. She then looked to the interior of the office, expecting to see Jon right there. “I have to go see him.”

Myrcella nodded. “I bet you’re exactly who he needs to see right now.”

“Come on, Eleanor,” Sansa said and the girl immediately came.

Leaving the front area, they went into the open space of the office that had a wall of filing cabinets, various desks and drafting tables for prints to be laid out on. There were windows that looked into a conference room and Sansa could see that several of the guys were in there, pouring over prints laid out on the table.

Sansa, with Eleanor, headed straight for Jon’s office. The door was open and she saw her husband sitting at his desk, staring at his computer screen. He hadn’t worn his hair pulled back that morning and right now, his curls were a mess on his head, signaling to her that he had been running his fingers through it for most of the day. And after what Myrcella had just told her, that made sense.

“Dad!” Eleanor exclaimed, skipping into the office without hesitation.

Jon’s head flew up and blinked, as if adjusting his eyes from looking away from the computer screen. And then, seeing that it was Eleanor and Sansa, he broke into a relieved smile. His eyes settled on Sansa.

“I really needed to see you,” he breathed.

“I’m gathering that,” Sansa smiled.

Jon stood up and came around his desk to give Eleanor a tight hug. “What are you doing here?”

“Mom’s taking me to the library and we passed your office and decided to stop in and surprise you,” Eleanor smiled up at him. “She read that there’s a lot of things I can sign up to do at the library. What do you think I should do, dad?”

“Whatever you want,” Jon smiled down at her. “Your mom was telling me about that designing book covers contest. That sounded like fun.”

Jon and Sansa leaned in at the same time and kissed one another.

“Can I talk to you?” He asked quietly.

“Of course,” Sansa nodded.

Jon poked his head out of the office. “Drew!” A younger man stood up from his desk as if a groundhog popping up from the ground. “Are you still counting Wing A?”

“Wing A, fourth floor,” Drew confirmed.

“This is my daughter, Eleanor. She’s amazing at counting fixtures. She’s been doing it since she was six.” Jon looked to Eleanor. “Do you mind helping Drew? This is a massive job we’re bidding and we need all the help we can get.”

“I don’t mind,” Eleanor beamed and she seemed eager to help. “Highlighters?”

Jon turned back to his desk and grabbed a variety pack from beneath a stack of papers. “You’re the best,” he smiled at her and with a kiss to her head, he sent her off.

Once it was just Jon and Sansa, he looked back to his wife and kissed her again.

“Myrcella just told me. This is… I don’t even have words,” Sansa admitted with a smile. “I’m going to have to help you pick out something to wear for Stannis and your meeting.”

“That makes two of us and yes, you will,” Jon smirked a little. He went to sit on the couch he had there in his office, taking Sansa’s hand and pulling her down with him. “I don’t know if I want it,” he then confessed.

“Why not? Jon, this could be _career_ changing.”

“That’s just it. Why do I want my career to change? I’m happy with how things are. This hospital… it’s shaped like a bat. There’s the middle section and then the male and female wings spread out on either side like a bat’s wings stretching out. Four floors, basement, tunnels… it might as well be a small city.”

“Do you think you can’t do it?”

“That’s part of it,” Jon gave a nod. “But if I do this job… we’re talking a years-long project. Five years minimum. And I don’t know if I want the stress of what a five plus year-long job can bring. On us, our family… my sobriety.”

“If you think, for one second, that this job is going to affect your drinking, you need to talk to Stannis.”

“And what about thinking it will affect our marriage and family?”

“I don’t think it will,” Sansa said. “You’ve always been so good about being able to leave the job at four or five every day and coming home to us. I don’t see why that will change. You can only do so much every day. It’s the same as it is with anything else you’ve worked on. Just… a gazillion times bigger.”

“A gazillion?” Jon began to smile.

Sansa smiled, too. “That is an official figure, too.”

Jon leaned in and kissed her, his hand on her cheek. “With things happening with you, I don’t want to be away from you or not be there for you when you need me.”

“You’re always there for me, Jon. No matter what. And I can’t see that doing this job will change that.”

He didn’t say anything to that. He moved in for another kiss. He could only hope she was right.

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU!! I think I want to write from one of the kid's POVs next... maybe Brandon.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Anna (Go to Him)" was a song written and originally recorded by Arthur Alexander and then covered by The Beatles for their 1963 _Please Please Me_ album. John Lennon had said this was one of his personal favorites (and it's one of mine, too.)

…

The high school got out at three o’clock and every day, Coach Benedict and Coach Rylan, the girls’ team’s coach, reminded the runners of the same thing. They had forty-five minutes to run three miles – anywhere in Greywater that they wanted – and if they weren’t back to the school by four o’clock, they were driving around until they found them and took them back.

“Though it better not take you that long to run three miles,” Coach Benedict always added.

Brandon usually ran his three miles with Cedric and Lewys, two freshmen on the team like him, and usually, two girls from the girls’ team joined them – Anna and Holly, two other freshmen. And usually by the first mile, Cedric, Lewys and Holly were running ahead and Brandon found himself with Anna behind them, the two talking as they ran.

“Favorite food,” Brandon said.

Anna smiled as she thought it over. “Grilled cheese. Favorite food,” she then said back.

Brandon thought it over for a second. “Onion rings,” he answered and then smiled as Anna laughed.

“Favorite dessert,” Anna began the next round.

“Chocolate fudge brownies and my mom makes this amazing cherry cola Jell-O my family all go crazy for.”

“That sounds amazing,” Anna smiled. “I take it it’s exactly how it sounds?”

“Yeah,” Brandon smiled back. “Cola and cherry Jell-O. Your favorite dessert?”

“Of everything, peanut butter pie. I’d do anything for a slice of peanut butter pie.”

Holly overheard that part. “Yeah, she would!” She teased and Cedric and Lewys both laughed at that.

Brandon and Anna promptly both broke into deep blushes at that.

“You know what I meant,” Anna said quietly to Brandon after a moment.

“I did,” he assured her.

Anna was cute. Her skin had that naturally tan look because her mother was Dornish. Her hair was dark, wild and curly. It reminded Brandon of Julia’s hair though Anna’s seemed a bit more tame in the Neck’s humidity. Anna wore a different band or novelty tee-shirt every day; Mötley Crüe tee-shirts seemed to be her favorite. When she wasn’t running, she also wore a thick pair of brown glasses that were for reading but she seemed to wear them whether she was reading or not.

“Favorite book,” Brandon changed the subject and Anna gave him a grateful smile for that.

“ _Matilda_ ,” she answered without having to think about it.

“No way.”

“What? Is that your favorite, too?” She laughed at the idea.

“No. _Esio Trot_ ,” Brandon answered and didn’t feel embarrassment for it. His mom had read him Roald Dahl books when he was a little boy and then, when he was learning to read, they read them together. He loved them all but there was something about _Esio Trot_ that he had always loved the most.

“is that the one with the turtles?” Cedric asked, overhearing.

“Alfie!” Holly was the one to exclaim the name of the turtle from the story.

Brandon just smiled – relieved that he was running with a group that were his new friends at his new school in his new home and they didn’t tease him mercilessly for something he liked.

“I read _The Witches_ when I was younger and it fucked me up forever,” Lewys then shuddered.

“So that’s your excuse,” Cedric ribbed him and reaching past Holly, Lewys slugged him.

“I haven’t read that one in a very long time,” Anna then said to Brandon. “Do you have a copy I can borrow?”

Brandon tried not to snap his neck from nodding his head as quickly as he did.

He had been so angry with his parents when they told him and his siblings about the move to Greywater. Wintertown had been his home for his entire life. All of his friends and family lived there and how dare they for moving him away from his entire _life_.

And when they arrived here, Brandon admitted that he was determined to keep to himself and not make any friends. He already had friends and he wanted to show his parents that he was not going to give Greywater any kind of chance purely on protest and principle.

But he tried out for cross country and made the team. He then began practicing with them and met Cedric and Lewys, who immediately started acting as if Brandon had always been there. Going into high school, already knowing guys, it definitely helped, sharing classes with them and sitting with them at lunch. Cross country practices with both teams, pizza parties, traveling together for meets, both teams always hanging out, Brandon met Holly and Anna and suddenly, he had four new friends (and one new crush).

He felt guilty for “abandoning” Alaric, Little Sam and Victoria in Wintertown but after visiting for fall break, and seeing how they had all broken away and were going off on their own, Brandon realized that they were all living their lives and there was nothing wrong with that. They didn’t expect Brandon to stop his life because they weren’t stopping theirs.

Greywater was his home now and these new friends were his friends now.

He knew his parents gave him a pass because of his age. They liked to remind him – and themselves – that it really is such a terrible age. His dad always liked to say that he couldn’t be paid to go through puberty again.

But Brandon didn’t want to use his age or puberty as an excuse. His whole family was going through the move and adjusting to it; not just him. His parents depended on him and his brothers and sisters looked up to him. And it had taken him a while, he admitted, but he could now tell himself that he was home.

…

Be cool, Jon. Be cool. Don’t be a _dad_.

He said this to himself as he waited outside of the high school in his work pickup truck, waiting for Brandon to finish with his cross country practice. And when he saw his son walking out the doors, there was a girl walking next to him and Brandon seemed to be bringing her right for Jon.

She was cute, Jon noted. Not that that mattered, but it was just something he noticed and he was sure that Brandon thought the same thing.

He rolled down the passenger window as Brandon reached the truck first. “Hey,” he smiled.

“Dad, this is Anna. She’s on the girls’ cross country team. Anna, this is my dad,” Brandon said.

“Hi, Anna,” Jon smiled at her.

“Hi, Mr. Snow,” the girl smiled in return.

“Anna actually lives close to us and I was wondering if she could come by for a little bit. I have a book that I want her to borrow. Is that alright?”

“Of course it is,” Jon said and smiled when Brandon gave him the most relieved look. Jon unlocked the doors and watched as the kids climbed into the backseat. He saw the Mötley Crüe tee-shirt Anna was wearing and he smirked a little to himself.

Jon knew his wife. Jon _loved_ his wife. But if Sansa was one thing, it was that she was a complete music snob and Mötley Crüe definitely was not going to be on a list of bands his wife wanted their children to listen to. Knowing his kids, at least two were going to ask Anna about her shirt was and then, when they found out that they were a band, they would want to listen to some of their music.

He couldn’t wait to see Sansa’s face when they asked and he couldn’t wait to see his kids’ faces when they heard Mötley Crüe for the first time. Because he knew his wife and Sansa would grin and bear it – for a few minutes – because Brandon was bringing a girl home and even if Anna was just a friend, Sansa wouldn’t embarrass Brandon no matter what kind of music his friends listened to.

“Anna,” Jon began as he pulled away from the curb. “Are you a freshman as well?”

“I am,” Anna confirmed. “Brandon and I have the same Westeros Government class.”

“And do you hate it as much as Brandon?” Jon asked.

Anna laughed. “Actually, I hope to live in King’s Landing one day on the King’s Council in some form or another. There are a ton of internships I can try and get while in college. But it works perfectly because I’ll help pass the laws and as a police officer, Brandon will help enforce them.”

“Quite the team,” Jon commented and glancing in the rearview mirror, he saw Anna smiling with red cheeks and Brandon’s cheeks looked a little red, too.

Sure enough, when Sansa met Anna, Brandon blushed but didn’t stop her as Sansa hugged her – Sansa was a hugger, Brandon knew – and she then promptly invited the girl to stay for dinner.

“ _If_ you would like to stay. We’re having Italian sausage rigatoni. Not sure if that sounds disgusting to you,” Sansa added with a smile.

Anna smiled, too, and quickly shook her head. “It sounds amazing, Mrs. Snow. I’ll go call my parents and ask if I can stay. If you really don’t mind.”

“Go call them,” Sansa said, still smiling, and she watched as Anna went out the front door, to make the call on the front porch. As soon as the front door was closed, Sansa turned that smile on Brandon.

“Her favorite band isn’t The Beatles. Go easy on her,” Brandon told her.

When Anna came back in, and let Sansa know that she was able to stay for dinner, Brandon showed her to the family room where his siblings were reading, doing worksheets, and watching _Zumbo’s Just Desserts_ on Netflix – which led Brandon to believe that it had been Julia’s pick today. She loved _Top Chef_ like Max but she was showing more of an interest in dessert shows lately. Either way, those two were sticking with their cooking competitions.

“What’s that?” George was the one to ask. He pointed to the tee-shirt Anna was wearing.

“It’s Mötley Crüe. They’re my favorite band,” Anna smiled, holding her tee-shirt out straight so they could all see it clearly. She pointed to the four guys printed on it. “Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Tommy Lee.”

“Are they wearing makeup?” Max asked.

“Among other things,” Anna laughed.

“What kind of music are they?” Eleanor asked.

“It’s called hair metal.”

Brandon was glad he had told Anna about his family and their love – obsession – with The Beatles because if he hadn’t told her that, she would probably be thinking that the Snow family was some sort of freak family who never went outside.

“Can we hear them?” George asked.

Sansa and Jon were in the kitchen, putting the final touches on dinner, and from the corner of her eye, Sansa watched as Brandon took the family tablet from the coffee table and handed it to Anna. The girl went to YouTube and searched for a video. A moment later, “Live Wire” by Mötley Crüe began blasting and all of the kids were looking at the screen, having never heard such a thing before.

Sansa didn’t even realize her body was tight at that noise – not music; _noise_ – until Jon’s hand was on her back and he brushed his lips against the corner of her jaw.

“You’re doing great,” he murmured.

And it was all so ridiculous – _she_ was ridiculous – Sansa just had to laugh at herself.

…

The kids were in their beds, asleep, and Jon was sitting up in his, reading on his laptop and going over his meeting points one more time before going to sleep himself. He had another meeting with the town council and board of directors in regards to the Greywater State Hospital and even though he knew every point, figure and number they were going to be discussing, there was nothing wrong with being over prepared.

Martha was lying in bed with him and she heard it first. She lifted her head up and waited another moment before jumped down and running down the bed. And then, another moment later, Jon heard it, too; the garage door opening up and then the garage door closing followed by the car alarm beeping another moment later. And then he could hear Sansa coming inside, walking around, checking locked doors and making sure the alarms were set.

Her feet were then on the stairs and before coming into their bedroom, Jon heard her go to all of the kids first, kissing them good night. She then, finally, came into their bedroom.

“I cannot kiss you yet,” Sansa said before he could even open his mouth to speak. “Mary and I had champagne and strawberries at the spa and I don’t want you even tasting a drop.”

Without even taking off her shoes, Sansa went straight into their bathroom and Jon smiled, going back to reading his laptop screen. He listened as she brushed her teeth – far longer than she had to – and then swish with mouthwash. She washed her face and took her hair down from the braids she wore it in that day. And then finally, she stepped out, turning the light off.

“How were the kids?” She asked as she went to take off her shoes, placing them neatly in the closet, and then began pulling her clothes off.

Jon watched her, standing at the foot of their bed, stripping and he knew she asked a question; he just couldn’t exactly hear it or answer it at the moment.

“Jon,” she then laughed.

“They were fine,” Jon finally answered. “Nothing to report. Julia wants to present something to us. She was working on it in secret tonight.”

“Reasons why she should have a snake?” Sansa guessed as she went to the dresser to get a fresh pair of underwear and then her pajama shorts and tee-shirt. “I suppose we do have to talk about that.”

“Christmas will be here soon. I know it’s the last thing you want in the house but I don’t see the harm. We just buy one that won’t kill us or Martha.”

“That’s the thing, Jon. They’re snakes. They can _all_ kill us,” Sansa said and Jon broke into a grin.

Jon saved his work and closed the laptop, sliding it onto the bedside table, as Sansa climbed into bed on her side. “And did you have fun with Mary at the spa?” He asked.

The answer was obvious. Whatever mud was in the Neck, it made his wife’s skin practically glow.

“So much fun,” Sansa confirmed with a smile. “It was fun to just be two women for a while.” She moved in closer to him and Jon lifted a hand, tucking hair behind her ear.

“I’m glad,” he smiled and his thumb swept across her cheek. “Can I kiss you now?” He then asked.

Sansa laughed and her entire _being_ was glowing. “You better.”

His smile widened into a grin and lifting his other hand to her other cheek, Jon moved his face to Sansa’s, his lips meeting hers, and he did just that.

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so, so much for reading!! That's the end - of this one! Still plenty of Beatles songs for me to go through.


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